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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/22841614">Youtuber Reader Oneshots</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Gothfoxgirl/pseuds/Gothfoxgirl'>Gothfoxgirl</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Youtubers</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Antis, F/M, Normals, idk - Freeform</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-02-22</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-02-22</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-18 08:09:04</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Graphic Depictions Of Violence</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>14</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>20,495</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/22841614</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Gothfoxgirl/pseuds/Gothfoxgirl</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>From my Deviantart </p><p>plzdontkillme</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Antisepticeye/Reader, Darkiplier/Reader, JackSepticEye/Reader, Markiplier/Reader, Sean McLoughlin/Reader, mark fischback/reader - Relationship</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>20</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Alcohol and Glass (Jacksepticeye)</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>trigger warning</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Sitting in your room, you laid in the dark, wallowing in your depression. Why, you may ask. Well, you had certain strong feelings for your best friend and you thought...no you knew that they wouldn't be reciprocated.<br/>
'I mean...c'mon! Sean is smart, funny, gorgeous...he's got the whole package! He can have any pick of any girl he wants! So why would he ever consider picking me?' A bitter frown crawled onto your lips, as you pulled the covers from your body and slipped downstairs. Opening the fridge, you pulled out a bottle of beer, the light illuminating your figure for a brief moment. Popping the cap, you downed half the bottle and sighed in relief at the slight burning sensation going down your throat. Finishing off the bottle, you fished through your cabinets and pulled out a shallow glass. Rummaging through your pantry, you slipped a bottle of whiskey onto the table. Pouring yourself glass after glass, you didn't realize how much you'd drank until the bottle was half empty. Screwing the lid on, you watched the golden amber liquid slosh around as you placed it back into the cabinet. Moving to put your glass into the sink, it slipped from your hand and shattered over your wood flooring. Stooping down, you swept as much as you could into a manageable pile and placed them into the trash. Hissing as one piece sliced at your finger, you looked at it. That actually felt good for some reason. </p><p>Your mind was swimming with both alcohol and emotions, as you muttered to yourself.<br/>
"I'm gonna have a bitch if a hangover in the morning." Picking up a bigger piece of glass, you looked at it with lightly hazy eyes. Though you weren't fully sober, you weren't drunk. You could hold your booze very well and right now you were just over tipsy, but still able to think. Glaring down at yourself, you placed the glass to your wrist and sliced into the skin. Your eyes didn't betray any emotion, while your eyes followed the trails of blood that leaked from the fresh cut. You allowed the makeshift razor to bite into your arm twice more, before dropping it into the trash. Standing, you stepped into the bathroom to wash your arm and hand of blood, as you watched the red swirl with the water, making the water turn a translucent pink and disappear down the drain. Unemotionally, you wrapped your wrist and finger with the crisp white bandages, as you washed the rest of the blood down the drain. Heading to bed, you could only await the morning to come.</p><p>In the morning you woke up with a slight hangover.<br/>
"Mh, not as bad as I thought..." You looked down to your arm and a bitter frown flew across your lips, eyes dulled like the night before.<br/>
"I do not regret this." Slipping on a long sleeved shirt and a sweater, you stepped into the cool mid-morning air. Making your way through the streets, you came upon your destination. The grocery store. Stepping inside, you grabbed a hand basket and stepped into the first aid aisle to restock your supplies. After checking out, you were about to leave when you heard someone call your name.<br/>
"_______!" Turning around, you tensed slightly seeing Sean, or Jacksepticeye on YouTube, but relaxed so he wouldn't get suspicious.<br/>
"Hey Sean! What'cha doin' here?"<br/>
"Just getting some milk, eggs, paper towels, etcetera etcetera. You?" You peeked into your single bag and listed off the contents.<br/>
"Hmmm...disinfectant, bandage wraps, bandages, aaaaaand a bottle of rum."<br/>
"What's with the odd shopping list?"<br/>
"Oh, I just ran out last night on them all except for the rum. I...eh...dropped a glass and cut myself on the broken pieces when I was cleaning up." Well, it wasn't a lie, but it wasn't the whole truth.<br/>
"You hurt yourself last night? Why didn't yeh call me? I'd've been there as fast as I could." You scratched the back of your neck.<br/>
"It was three in the morning...I was getting a glass of water when it slipped from my hand."<br/>
"______, I would've been there anyways. You're my friend. I don't want you ta get yerself hurt." You gave him a warm smile.<br/>
"Thank you. I'll keep that in mind. See you later Sean!" You walked out with a shared wave between you two and walked back home. That was close. </p><p> </p><p>-a year later-<br/>
You sprinted home and flopped onto your bed. The hot tears welling in your eyes began to fall, as you sobbed into your pillow, dampening the case with the salty water. When you began to hiccup, you sat up and grabbed the knife you'd used all this time, rolling up your sleeves. Bright lines crisscrossed your arms. Both of them. The year of cutting had left the are damaged and scarred. Just like your heart. Positioning the blade, you cut without hesitation. After the first cut of the day, you kept slicing at your flesh until blood pooled on both arms, trickling down them and into your palms when you lowered them. You sobbed harder into the pillow, until you could stand long enough to walk to the bathroom. Washing your arms, you disinfected them. Which hurt like a bitch. You, then wrapped them tightly with bandages. Through this whole episode, you tried your hardest not to be too loud. Your other friend, Mark Fischbach or Markiplier, lived one house over from you, so you didn't want to worry him with being loud. Laying back on your bed, you spotted your Septic Sam plush that sat at the top of your pillows. Feeling more tears drip down your face, you snatched him into your arms and squeezed his soft exterior to your thin stomach. You had forgone eating very much a day, so your stomach had become flatter than a wall and your ribs would have shown slightly if you'd've worn tighter shirts, but you always wore baggy clothes to hide it. All that you would put into your stomach would be; a little bit of food, small amounts of water, and alcohol every once in a while. Laying down, you cried yourself to sleep.</p><p>-three weeks later; Mark's POV-</p><p>I hadn't seen ______ in a week and a half, so I assumed she was sick. I decided to go over and see if she'd need my help or anything. You see, ______ is like a sister to me and I care deeply for her. As I stepped to the door, I unlocked it with the key she gave me and walked in.<br/>
"_______?" My voice echoed off the walls and I heard a groan from the bathroom. Coming closer, I knocked.<br/>
"Hey, ______. It's Mark. Are you ok?" Hearing a light wheezing sound, I had a gut feeling something was wrong and tried to jiggle to door open. To my surprise, it was unlocked. As I opened the door, my heart stopped and my blood ran cold. Ripping my phone from my pocket, I emergency called Sean.</p><p>-Sean's POV-</p><p>"Hello everybody, my name is Markiplier-" I heard my phone go off and picked it up knowing it was Mark.<br/>
" 'Sup?"<br/>
"Sean, get to _______'s house. Now!" He hung up and I immediately grabbed my keys and sprinted from my house, seeing as I only lived a couple blocks from her house. I could tell from Mark's tone that it was very urgent. Jogging through the front door, since it was open, I called out.<br/>
"Mark! _______!" I heard Mark reply.<br/>
"Bathroom! Get in here!" I ran over and what I saw made my whole body go numb. _____ was sitting against the wall, a pool of blood on the floor smearing up like she'd been dragged. Towels were wrapped around her wrists, slowly turning crimson themselves, and Mark was kneeling besides her, his hand on her shoulder, trying to shake her awake.<br/>
"C'mon _______, wake up! Wake up!" I shook off enough shock to be able to kneel down and place an ear to her chest. Hearing a dull heartbeat, I gently lifted her arm to wrap around my neck, as I lifted her into my arms in a bridal carry.<br/>
'She's so light.' Her head lolled onto my shoulder and I looked down to her unconscious face, not caring if my shirt was covered in blood.<br/>
"I know you're alive ______. Wake up." Mark put a hand to my shoulder and I nodded, walking into her bedroom and laying her in her bed. Pulling the covers over her frame and closing the door behind me as I walked back out, I turned to Mark, who was shaking slightly.<br/>
"What happened here, Mark?" He drew in a shaky breath.<br/>
"I was gonna come over, thinking she was sick, and help her out a bit. I unlocked the door and when I got in, I called out her name. I heard her groan from the bathroom, so I thought she was throwing up, but when I asked if she was alright, I heard a faint wheeze and my gut was telling me something was wrong. I was prepared to break the door down, but it was unlocked. Looking in, my heart stopped seeing ______ in a pool of blood. It was coming from her wrists and a bloody kitchen knife was across the room, like she'd fallen. Blood was everywhere. I tried to get her to sit against the wall and I wrapped towels around her wrists to stop the bleeding. Just before you came, I was cleaning her arms off and retying the towels. Sean, she's been doing this for a long time. Her...Her arms were covered in crisscrossing scars." He was beginning to hyperventilate, as I set a hand on his shoulder.<br/>
"Mark, breathe. At least you got to her in time. Any longer and she'd've bled out."<br/>
"How could I have not seen something was wrong? She was so thin and I didn't notice!" I stayed silent for a couple moments, before breaking the short silence.<br/>
"I had a gut feeling something was wrong about a year ago, but I brushed it off as ____ being clumsy. I ran into her at the store and she seemed a little tense. I saw the almost completely hidden sadness in her eyes, but I didn't ask her what was wrong." </p><p>I sat in a chair next to her bed, my hand holding hers and rubbing circles onto the back. There was a tiny groan from her and I thought it was just her making noises in her sleep. I laid my head on my arm and not a few minutes later, her hand lifted from mine. Her nimble fingers began brushing themselves through my green-dyed brown hair, massaging my scalp soothingly. Looking up, dull (e/c) eyes met my dusty blue ones. She was sitting up and suddenly, she retracted her hand. She shifted her eyes away from me and pulled the covers up, sitting on the opposite side of the bed with her back to me. I moved to sit behind her Indian style on the bed, wrapping my arms around her midsection. She really was thin. I could feel her ribs through her shirt. When my gaze flickered to her hair, I could feel my eyes soften. She had green and pink streaks in it, probably for Mark and myself. I then heard a tiny sob come from her.<br/>
"I-I'm s-sorry..." I nuzzled her neck, holding her closer to me.<br/>
"I'm so happy you're alive, _____..."<br/>
"I'm sorry...I...I lied to you that day a year ago..." I turned her around and she buried her face into my chest, hot tears pouring from her eyes. I could feel my face heat up, as I rubbed circles onto her back. She mumbled into my shirt.<br/>
"I was drinking that night...the glass did slip and break. It cut my finger when I was cleaning up, but it...felt good. That was the day I started..." </p><p>-Reader's POV-</p><p>You broke down into Sean's chest, gripping the back of his shirt with your thin fingers. Your puffy eyes shot open once you felt one of his arms wrap around your waist and the other tangle it's fingers in your hair, pushing you closer to him. Tiny, quiet sobs caught your attention. You could hear the soft sound thundering through his chest. Looking up to him, your heart seemed to shatter. In all the time you've known Sean, you've only seen him cry in person one other time. When his previous girlfriend broke up with him. The small tears leaked from his stunning blue eyes and you could feel your instincts kicking in, as you reached your hands up to brush his tears away.<br/>
"Sean..."<br/>
"Why?" You were silent for a moment, knowing what he was asking. You took a shaky breath.<br/>
"I...felt useless...selfish in what I truly wanted..." The cryptic response seemed to confuse him for a moment, before he holds you to him again, a watery reply breaking through the his lips.<br/>
"Don't feel useless...you aren't...you never will be."<br/>
"I...kgh!" You choked on your tears, as you heard him continue.<br/>
"What was it you truly wanted?" A dark blush enveloped your face, as you hesitantly replied, voice muffled slightly by his shirt.<br/>
"You..." The next thing you knew, he pulled you away from his chest and cupped your face in his larger hands, bringing it up to seal his lips onto yours. Without any hesitation, you returned the kiss, wrapping your arms around his neck. Both of your faces were streaked with tears and, if it had been raining in the room, it would have looked like the end to a stereotypical romance movie. </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>~Extended Ending~</p><p>"TOP OF THE MORNIN TO YA LADDIES! My name is Jacksepticeye and welcome back to HAPPY- _______ get over here! This is ______, my-"</p><p>"WHEELS!"</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>"Best. Girlfriend. Ever."</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. The Pocky Game (Markiplier)</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>i know. its bad</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>You sat in your friend, Mark's, apartment, since you were visiting for the day. Wade was here too, but he wasn't making a video with Mark at the moment. He stood over you, seeing as you were sitting down, and handed you a bright red box. A pocky box. You looked at him confused.<br/>"Wha?" He smirked.<br/>"Go play the Pocky Game with Mark."<br/>"Eh?!" Your face lit up bright pink.<br/>"It's obvious you like him. I'm surprised that he doesn't know yet," He chuckled, patting you on the shoulder. You hesitantly got up and walked to Mark's recording studio. Knocking, you heard him tap a key on his keyboard and take off his headphones.<br/>"I'll be right back!" Oh, he was recording. The door swung open and there Mark was, smiling down at you. He was a head taller...all the time. You scratched the back of your head, holding onto the treat box in your hand tighter.<br/>"Um...if this is a bad time, I can come back later." He gave you a gentle smile.<br/>"No no, it's a good time. What did ya need?" Your blush increased ten fold.<br/>"U-Um...Wade handed me this Pocky box and told me to play the Pocky Game with you..." </p><p>You could've sworn that his ears turned pink, as he scratched the back of his neck. <br/>"Alright...now?"<br/>"He just said to...I can come back later...you seem busy..."<br/>"It's fine! I can just edit the video time." You scratched your jawline nervously.<br/>"Are you sure?" Your voice became quieter and before you knew it, the box was gently pulled from your grip. He opened it and laughed lightly.<br/>"Nice! White chocolate!" He brought one out and placed the frosting side between his lips. Hesitating slightly, you bit the other end and the game began. Taking small bites, both of you inched closer to each other. Reaching the last bit, your lips hovered over each other, before Mark finished the last bit and locked his lips with yours. Your blush heated up your face, as you melted into it and moved your mouth against his. When he broke off, he smiled, his head laying on your shoulder.<br/>"I love you, my Queen of The Squirrels." You giggled slightly.<br/>"And I love you, my King." He looked at you again.<br/>"Let's play again." He put the biscuit in his mouth again, but you took it and planted your lips on his, this kiss more passionate than the last. Afterwards, you laughed and used your sleeve to wipe the lip gloss from his lips.<br/>"I'm sure you don't want to go back with gloss on your face." He laughed and kissed your forehead, going back to finish his video.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Even though Mark edited out the time in his video, that didn't mean that your relationship was kept secret. </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Wade snickered from down the hall, his phone recording the whole ordeal.<br/>"Now...time to upload this! Man the fangirls are gonna be PISSED!"</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. The Pocky Game (Jacksepticeye)</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>You were sitting on the table at your friend, Sean's, house. You were LITERALLY on the table. Sitting Indian style, you leaned back so that your legs stayed the same and your back laid flat on the table's surface. You had your phone in hand and were scrolling through devianart. You chuckled, finding some XReaders with Sean in them. You laid your phone on your chest, as you stared up at the ceiling for a couple seconds. Your eyes fluttered closed for a split second, before you felt someone's breath on your face. Opening them again, your face turned fire red. Sean was leaning over your face, lips hovering over yours. <br/>"Uhhhh...Sean?" He blinked and jumped back, a light blush tinting his light skin.<br/>"Eh...sorry ______." <br/>"No problem." </p><p>After a minute of awkward silence, you cocked your head to the side.<br/>"Isssss there something you needed?" He snapped out of his thoughts and pulled out a box of cookies and cream flavored Pocky.<br/>"I found out about a game called The Pocky Game and I thought you'd play with me." Your ears turned dark pink, as you dumbly nodded your head. He opened the package and placed the biscuit end into his mouth, waiting patiently for you. Biting the inside of your lips lightly, you attached your teeth too the other end. The sweet cream flavor invaded your taste buds, as you both nibbled  at first. The closer you both got, the redder your cheeks flamed. Soon, there was less than an inch of the treat left and Sean took the leap, sweeping your lips into a sweet kiss. He tasted faintly of coffee and waffles(he obviously just had breakfast).</p><p>You felt him cup your face and prodded at your lips with his tongue. You parted them slightly and his tangled with yours. After a few minutes, he broke off and looked down, a bright blush painted on his face. He scratched the back of his neck, sheepishly.<br/>"S-Sorry..." You smiled at him and kissed his cheek.<br/>"Don't be." He looked at you. Oh, those blue eyes you could so easily get lost in. His hands cupped your face again, as he brought you lips to his. This time, both of you poured all of your passion into it. Your hands had found their way to his hair, fingers tangling in the soft green fluff that was his side comb. This simple game had turned into a make out session, making the both of you burn scarlet. Pulling apart, it was apparent tongue was involved, seeing the string of saliva connecting the both of you. You giggled at him. He was looking away shyly. He's just too cute. You pecked him on the forehead.<br/>"You're just too cute." He looked up to you, mirth and bashfulness in those orbs.<br/>"I could say the same about ya, _____. I...I love ya, _____." His expression turned to one of nervousness, even though you and him had just made out. You smiled, pecking him on the lips again.<br/>"I love you too, Sean." He practically glomped you in a hug, beaming brightly. A pink blush blossomed onto your face. It was just too cute and innocent when he made this face. It almost made you forget how much he swore. Almost. You giggled.<br/>"Uh, random request, but....piggy back ride?" He laughed and shifted so that you were on his back with him supporting you under your knees. You wrapped your arms loosely around his neck, your cheek resting in his floofy hair. He walked around, a smile on his face. You had to admit, that smile was contagious. <br/>"Question. What brought on the sudden pocky game? If you don't mind." He laughed again and you did too.<br/>"Mark?"<br/>"Yep- shit I left the Skype on." A few yards away you heard Mark laughing his ass off.<br/>"I KNEW IT! BOB OWES ME TWENTY BUCKS NOW!" You deadpanned, running your hand down your face and making your new boyfriend laugh again. He slid you around to be in the same position but in his front with your legs locked behind him. He hugged you close to him.<br/>"Ignore 'im." You smiled again and kissed him again, both lost in bliss.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Realities (Jacksepticeye)</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>this one is like 3 years old holy fuck</p><p>I wrote this on Halloween of <b>2016</b></p><p>Right. Warning: Gore</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>-Sean's POV-</p><p>I saw one of my friends had posted a new video. It was a livestream. I decided to see what was up and clicked on it. It was _____'s channel. </p><p>She appeared onscreen and had three pumpkins on her table.<br/>"Happy Halloween! I'm gonna be carving three different things one three pumpkins! Comment down below and I'll pick out what to carve!" I immediately typed what I wanted and saw her smile.<br/>"It seems Jackaboy's watching! The first thing I'll care is....Septiceye Sam. Let's see how I'm gonna do this...hmm." She started by drawing out the shapes and began cutting. When she was done, she turned it around and I chuckled. The eye was cut out, but two bits of the shell connected to the iris, while the pupil was cut out. The tail's outline was cared out as well. </p><p>She did a Cheshire Cat and then an easy one, the Harry Potter Deathly Hallows sign. She turned back to the camera. <br/>"I hope you all liked this livestream, even though it was short, and I hope you have a happy hallow-" She froze, her hand raising the knife in her hand, shakily. It pressed against her neck, drawing blood instantly. Her eyes looked up, unfocused.<br/>"<b>You know you can't run. Certainly you can't hide. What makes you think you can hold me back? Especially at this time of year?</b>" A deep chuckle tore from her lips, as they spread into a split grin.<br/>"<b>Have fun my little puppet.</b>" Her eyes focused back on the camera, focused and panicked. Her hand shot to her neck, blood coating her fingers. I looked at the comments again. They said 'what? Jack did this already!' and 'where's the jumpscare?'. I typed in a worried comment. <br/>'That IS SFX blood right?' She didn't look at the comments, as blood bubbled past her lips and down her chin. Her hand clamped down on the gash in her throat, as she coughed out a splatter of blood. In the comments, I saw more about whatever the voice was 'ANTI(Y/T/N)!' 'Was that anti(Y/t/n)?' </p><p>Her hand dripped with blood down the outside and there were more comments. 'Ok that's a little overboard with the fake blood.' 'Too much blood!' I felt my heart thunder against my rib cage. Was that real blood? I watched her grab her phone and dial three numbers. Holding it to her ear, it was answered.<br/>"D-Denise?" A short pause.<br/>"It h-happened again. You-gh-rem-member the address right?" There was another pause and she put down her phone. Turning back to the camera, she smiled a red filled smile, gurgling past whatever was building up in her mouth<br/>"I'll b-be fiiiiine. S-See you soon." Right before she turned the camera off, she doubled over coughing out a glob of red.</p><p>When the camera turned off, I felt my heart drop into my stomach. Without any hesitation, I grabbed my wallet and keys, before sprinting out the door. Coming up to ______'s house, I was able to get in with the key she'd given me. Rushing inside, I called out for her.<br/>"______!" I went up to her room, finding her door open. She was sitting there, her hand over her neck, blood everywhere. She turned her head to me, her eyes dulling.<br/>"S-Sean..."<br/>"That really wasn't fake blood...was it?" She shook her head and I bolted to her bathroom to grab a towel. I wrapped it around her, heavily bleeding, neck. The blood just kept gushing, quickly turning the (f/c) fabric black. She spoke past the foaming gore.<br/>"Ambulance...on its...way..." Her eyes began to roll back into her head, but I caught her face with my palms.<br/>"Stay awake, ______. They should be here soon." It was all for naught. She had lost too much blood. She blacked out, just as I heard the sirens get to the curb. I picked her up in a bridal carry and rushed down the stairs. The paramedics were just at the door, when I sped out. I placed her on a gurney and helped push it into the back of an ambulance. I refused to leave her side, my exterior barely showing that I was afraid for my friend. But, the inside was a mess. Inside I was having a freak out meltdown. Why? Well, ______'s dying for one. Two, she lost ALOT of blood. And three.....I loved her. Her breathing had gone heavy and ragged, as I gripped her trembling, blood caked palm.</p><p>Once the ride from hell was over, she was rushed to the operating room, as I walked beside here.<br/>"Stay with us, _______! Please! Stay with us!" I stopped outside and paced, as the light went on, meaning operating was in progress. I finally sat down after about an hour. I was actually so worried that I felt nauseous and felt a cold stick adhere to my skin(A/N: since he doesn't really sweat). It was another hour when the light went off, but no one approached me. Another half hour of agonizing silence rained down, before I was approached by a doctor.<br/>"The surgery was a success. She's also awake, surprisingly. She's also calling for you." I readily followed him into the room. ______ was laying down, her neck wrapped in bandages and her arms by her side, the (dominant) wrapped up too. When the doctor took his leave, she turned her head my way and smiled, beckoning me closer. I sat in the chair to her right. Her right hand rose up and held my face.<br/>"Thank you." <br/>"For what?"<br/>"Being there for me." I reached down, brushing her (h/c) hair from her face, letting me see those gorgeous (e/c) eyes. <br/>"I'll always be there." She turned slightly, placing her bandaged hand on the other side of my face. My eyes widened slightly when she began pulling me down, sealing our lips together. After a moment, I held the rail on the side of her bed, my eyes falling shut, as I began moving my lip against hers. When we parted for air, I chuckled at the pink blush that dusted her cheeks, as she scratched the back of her neck. I leaned back over and pecked her forehead, a whisper in my tongue.<br/>"I love ya, _____." Her blush seemed to flare brighter, as she squeaked out an answer.<br/>"Iloveyoutoo." I smiled for a second, before my eyes trailed to her bandaged hand.<br/>"What..."</p><p>She tilted her head.<br/>"I cut myself when I dropped the knife." <br/>"What happened." She sighed and touched her neck.<br/>"I...have a split personality and the other half's evil. They've been trying to kill me since I was about three or four. They nearly succeed around this time of year...every year." <br/>"Every...year?" She nodded and placed her hand on her stomach.<br/>"I have multiple stab and bullet scars on my stomach, as well as my chest. They've made me drink cleaner, bleach, handfuls of pills, and gasoline. They've tried to electrocute me, drown me, and even cause myself to drink myself to death. Just a couple years ago they made me walk onto a set of active train tracks. I was lucky that I regained control in time. Today they struck at the time, because I had a knife in hand and was off guard for a moment. Halloween is the time of year they try to kill me, because that's when the evil become stronger." I blinked and leaned over, wrapping my arms around her as best I could.<br/>"Like I said, I'll always be there." She relaxed and wound her arms around my shoulders. When we parted was when a doctor came with a clipboard. He had ______ sit up and began to unwrap the bandages. He had her tilt her head back to stretch the stitches.<br/>"It seems like you're already healing. You should be good to go home by morning." She nodded and laid back down. The doctor looked my way, probably about to say that visiting hour were over, but his eyes flickered down to my and ______'s intertwined fingers. He smiled lightly. <br/>"You may sleep there or across the other chairs if you wish."<br/>"Thank ye." He nodded and left, turning down the lights. It wouldn't take long for us both to doze off.</p><p>Morning came and I yawned, straightening up from my hunched position. My spine popped and I found ______ smiling at me.<br/>"I can go home today." I looked at my phone. It was about 8:30. I shrugged. Maybe an early video would be ok. I pulled the camera on my phone on and put it on video.<br/>"Hello everybody! My name's Jacksepticeye and I can't yell right now cause I'm at the hospital. No, not for me but...look who's here." I sat back in my chair and turned my phone so that ______ was on camera.<br/>"Hi guys. Sorry about yesterday. That was completely unexpected and, yes, that WAS real blood. I also really did call 911. But, as you can see, I'm fine now and I can go home today." We looked at each other and back at the camera grinning.<br/>"We've also got some news!" I put my index finger and thumb to her chin and tilted her face to meet mine. She rolled her eyes and grabbed my face, pulling me to her. My blue eyes widened comically in surprise, before I broke away laughing. She turned to the camera with an accusing stare.<br/>"All you Septiplier shippers...no...just no..." I broke into snickers at her expression, before pecking her temple. Turning back to the camera and laughed quietly.<br/>"Thank you guys so much for watching this video. If you liked it, punch the like button in the face-"<br/>"Like a boss!"<br/>"-And high fives all round...thank you guys and I'll see all you dudes-"<br/>"In the next video!" ______ finished softly. I stopped recording and posted it. After a couple minutes, _______ checked back and there were already over a hundred likes and a couple thousand views. About ten comments sat in the comments section, but the very first one was none other than THE Markiplier. His comment was....</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>"(SHIP NAME) AWAY!"</p>
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<a name="section0005"><h2>5. Music Box (Jacksepticeye and Anti)</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Inspiration -&gt; youtu.be/LR6YeLod_Dg</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The tile was cold.</p><p>The ceramic white angel spun on its pedestal, as it played its soft melody to all that would lend an ear.</p><p>A pair of eyes watched the box as it played its tune. Both blue, but, one with a white sclera and one with green. </p><p> </p><p>A set of soft footsteps caught the young man's attention. A woman, of about the same age, padded onto the time in his view. She wore a black tank top and a pair of fuzzy grey full length pants. She knelt and laid by him, closing her (e/c) eyes, not making a sound. She opened her eyes. The right had stayed (e/c), while the left turned black with a red ringed iris inside. Her expression matched his, as she stared at the figurine as it turned. When the music dwindled, her blackish clawed hands moved forward to crank it again. A pair of red clawed hands set on hers at the same time. They both met eyes. Not a word was spoken.</p><p>Yet, both those pairs of eyes spoke with such understanding. Such...pain. She moved her hands and he wound the box up again. He retracted his hands for a moment, before laying it down between them. She met him eyes and laid her own over his. They squeezed their hands together, as their eyes closed. Sleep had finally claimed them.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Morning came and the house was silent. His eyes opened, both blue. He yawned and rubbed his eyes with one hand. He felt warmth in his other and felt her stir. Her orbs opened, both (e/c). She smiled softly and a blush dusted his cheeks. She let his hand go and closed the music box with a soft click. She stood and offered him her hand. He took it and she helped him to his feet. The quiet house was broken by a soft whisper.<br/>
"..._______..." She gave him a gentle smile.<br/>
"Yes, Sean?"<br/>
"Ye stayed with me all night..."<br/>
"I did."<br/>
"Why?"<br/>
"All four of us <b>couldn't sleep</b>." His head tipped up when he heard her voice morph. Her eyes had turned black with a red ring and her hands had turned into black skinned claws. The normal insane gleam in her eyes was gone and replaced by sadness and inner turmoil.<br/>
"_______..." A garbled voice responded.<br/>
"<b>She willingly gave me control...she...she knew what I could do, yet...she...?!</b>" She froze when she felt arms wrap around her back. Red clawed fingers rested on her shoulders, arms around her neck. She looked and found flattened pointed ears. She could see his face, as he pulled back. His eyes were fully green with a blue iris and black pupil. His sharpened teeth became visible once he spoke.<br/>
"<span class="u">I know...Sean just did the same. He...probably knows I know how to talk to you better...</span>" She chuckled.<br/>
"<b>Heh, seems we know our hosts better than they know themselves...and vice versa...</b>"<br/>
"<span class="u">They don't even know each other's feelings...</span>"<br/>
"<b>Neither do we.</b>"<br/>
"<span class="u">What?</span>" She shook her head.<br/>
"<b>You're so dense.</b>"</p><p>She stood on her toes and sealed her lips to his. The tips of his ears turned pink, as he closed his eyes and applied pressure back. She eased back onto the sole of her foot, making him lean over to keep the contact. Her hair fell from her face, as their personalities went back to normal. Blue eyes opened, meeting (e/c). Both blushed crimson, but they didn't pull away. _______ was the one to break it, immediately hiding her face in her hands. Her other personality's memories came to her and she turned a brighter red. When she looked up, it seemed like Sean had gotten Anti's. He blinked and leaned forward, pecking his lips to her forehead. She remembered what they had said before they kissed. He liked her back! She looked back up and he looked like he realized it as well. They both broke into grins and she tackled him onto his butt, then to his back, her lips on his. Though he was startled and surprised, he closed his eyes, returning her gesture. </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>The music box had fallen, it's handle cranked once.</p><p> </p><p>A soft, calming, tune chimed through the air.</p><p> </p><p>A porcelain angel seemingly watching over them in a halo of white.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0006"><h2>6. S.A.V.E. Her (Friend!Jacksepticeye)</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Implied torture warning</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>-Sean’s POV-</p><p>I felt and heard my phone buzz and picked it up. My eyes lit up. My friend _____ was doing a livestream! I opened my computer to her channel and then the video. It was a Q&amp;A.<br/>“I’m letting you guys send in questions through the chat, so let ‘em rip!” Something was off. She kept scratching at herself. Like she wasn’t comfortable in her own skin. She answered a few questions with a smile. One that didn’t reach her eyes. As I looked closer, her eyes didn’t seem real to me anymore. Was she wearing a mask or contacts? Someone asked if she was alright and if she was ok. She glanced to the chat and opened her mouth to speak, when a muffled scream echoed from somewhere else in her house. Her mouth fell into a frown.<br/>“What? It fucking hurts now?! Pathetic!” A smothered ‘Help me!’ came from where the scream originated. My heart skipped a beat. That sounded like ____. But she- I jumped, when she turned to the camera and reached for her eyes. She pulled off a full eye contact, as her skin started to sag. Her eyes were black with yellow rings in them. Demon. She grabbed her face and ripped the skin from it, showing pale white beneath. The chat exploded with her name.<br/>“Holy shit! That’s Armagina!”<br/>“Armagina!”<br/>“Is _____ ok?!” She walked off screen, her face blank, letting the chat frenzy. I didn’t plan on watching anymore. I grabbed my phone and keys and made a dash for the door.</p><p>When I arrived at her house, I practically rammed her door down with how fast I unlocked the front. <br/>“_____!” I heard a scream sob from her basement and darted for it. As I shouldered the door open, I found her tied to the wall, her arms straight up and attached to ropes dangling from the ceiling. She looked up at me with a single (e/c) eye, her other closed, and her hair was roughly cut to her shoulders. She was littered in scratches, cuts, and sickly bruises, blood everywhere. I was able to cut her down with my pocket knife and she tumbled into my arms. She didn’t try to stand and I understood why. The backs of both calves were sliced into. She tried to speak, but could only alert me to something behind me. I dodged, before a bat sailed where my head was a second ago. Behind me stood Armagina, an iron baseball bat in her hands and a snarl on her face.<br/>“Give me my prey!”<br/>“She’s not your prey! She’s your host!” I leaned _____ against the wall and stood up, facing her demon. She lunged at me, but I got out of the way. She kept jumping at me and I kept dodging.<br/>“Fight me like a man!” I didn’t respond and continued dancing around her attacks.<br/>“You won’t fight because I look like her?! You’re such a pussy!” That was only part of my reason. I didn’t want to hit her because she’s a woman and my pride and morals wouldn’t let me. I had the hardest time slapping Mark and he’s a guy! She landed on me and we went to the floor. I was able to roll out from under her, when a raspy voice got her attention, making her look up. When I was away from her, I turned to my friend. She was leaned over the floor, her hands stained red. There were symbols on the floor, drawn with her own blood. She started chanting.<br/>“Reditum meum corpusculo! Adiungatur meo animae! Continebat potest meus esse corporis tibi et numquam te iterum videam per sensus meus!(Return to mine body! Be attached to mine soul! Be contained to mine physical ails and may you never see through mine senses again!)”</p><p>A moment went by, before Armagina screamed in pain, starting to bleed from her eye and gain every injury _____ had, before being sucked back into the woman’s body, hopefully to never be seen again. _____ collapsed to the floor, holding her eye and waist.<br/>“Let me help you get patched up.” She nodded and let me carry her to the bathroom, up on the first floor. I wrapped her legs, while she did the same to her arms. She let me wrap her midsection shoulders, and neck. I finished up cleaning and patching the cuts on her face, when I noticed that she wouldn’t open her left eye. She only reached for a gauze pad and placed it on her lap, as she cleaned the area around her eyelid and applied the patch, before wrapping the side of her face with loose bandages.<br/>“_____?” She looked up and signed to me using simple sign language, since I wasn’t as fluent as she was.<br/>*Gone.* <br/>“What?”<br/>*Cut out. Gone.* <br/>“She cut it out?!” She nodded and rubbed at her hairline with a silent sigh.<br/>*Video? Still on?* I got her question.<br/>“Yeah. It’s still going. You want to go end it?” She hesitated.<br/>“Want me to end it?” A nod.<br/>“Ok. I’m gonna take you to the couch in your recording room, ok?” Another nod. I lifted her up and carried her to the room, where I set her down and went to her computer. The chat was a mess of panic. When they saw me, they kept screaming questions. Some about her being ok and about Armagina. A few noticed the blood on my shirt. I sighed.<br/>“_____’s ok. Armagina’s gone. Both of us are unsure when _____ will make another video, but, until then, slap that like button in the ass! And she’ll see you guys in her next video. Bye!” I turned everything off, as I heard a quiet, wheezing, chuckle from my friend on the couch. Yeah. I used her outro instead of mine. I gave her a nod and left to get her some tea for her throat .</p><p>A couple weeks later, I got a message from Youtube. _____ put up a video. I opened it and found her facing the screen, the bandaging over her eye still. Her voice was raspy.<br/>“Hey, guys. Sorry for the long absence. I’ve been healing from...Armagina’s attack. She was able to split from me and kept me a hostage in my own home for three weeks. You guys, probably, noticed my videos were kinda off for a while. As for my injuries...My legs are healing fine. I can actually walk instead of using things to help me and I’m able to crouch again for short periods of time. My...My eye...I’m not gonna sugarcoat anything. She cut it out. I’m not sure if I should get a glass one and both those and prosthetics cost a fortune. Jack, I know you’re watching and I won’t accept charity. I’m healing mentally too. The therapy sessions are helping. I know what you’re thinking. Armagina was bound to my body with a spell. Yeah...sounds like bullshit to me too and I was the one that said the spell. She can no longer sense anything through my senses and she receives the wounds I sustain. Before my voice goes away completely...Thank you, Jack...Sean, you literally saved my life. I might be signing for a while, so hit those captions, cause I’ll be translating them...or I might just put them in the video. I’m gonna go lay down, so...Make sure you ass slap that like button and I’ll see you soon. Bye.” As soon as she stopped talking, I knew she had lost her voice. I snickered as she signed ‘shit’ and turned off the camera. Hopefully she’ll heal soon and I’ll have my friend back completely.</p>
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<a name="section0007"><h2>7. The End(Mark) [PART 1]</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>cheesy zombie apocalypse story</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>-Mark's POV-</p><p>The apocalypse. That's all I could call this. It had been a couple days after I woke up that I realized what was going on. At first, I thought I'd just slept through the night, but I realized that a gas pipe in my house had broken, almost killing me. I was unconscious for three days. That's all it took for everything to go to shit(A/N: ideas came from the beginning of The Walking Dead). At the moment, I'm walking through the empty streets of LA, wondering what the hell is going on. Just in case those movies are real, I brought a few knives and looted a couple handguns from a local pawn shop. No one was there and the door was unlocked, so....</p><p>When I reached town square, my heart dropped. First of all, the air was just barely breathable, due to the smell of rotting flesh. And secondly, there were a few 'people' hunched over in the streets. Now, I'm not an idiot. Those aren't <i>people</i>. As soon as I loaded my handgun and aimed, the woman in front of me turned, showing me the blood that stained the front of her shirt and the pieces of flesh torn from her face. She locked eyes with me and rushed my way with a screech. Aiming for her head, I let loose a bullet into her brain. She dropped, but the sound drew the attention of the others and then some. Finding myself surrounded, I tried my hardest to fight them off, but they became too many. I felt my stomach do flips, as they closed in on me.</p><p>Suddenly, a couple shots rang out. One bullet whizzed by my head and into the frontal lobe of a man behind me. With the help of whoever this was, I was able to clear a path and rush into the closest building. When the door was closed, I leaned against a wall to catch my breath. Out of nowhere, a gloved hand covered my mouth. Opening me eyes, I found a person, a living person, in front of me. They wore a dark brown hazmat suit without the clear film over the face, a grey gas mask in its place. With their other hand, they rose a finger to where their mouth would be. They pulled me up the stairs and over a few barricades, into a room where a sniper rifle sat perched in the window. I just stood there, as they finished packing everything and slung their pack over their shoulders, the snipe hooked to their back. Guns and knives were hooked to straps the crisscrossed their suit, a gun I recognized as an M-19 in their hand. They handed me a gas mask that just goes over the mouth and I nodded, putting it on. They, then, handed me a hand gun with a silencer on it. That was when I noticed the height difference. I was much taller. Anyways, they rehooked the rifle to their back, crossing over the snipe, as they pulled a pipe with screws and nuts sticking out of one end and an axe head welded to the other. The nodded and motioned for me to follow them, as they directed me out the back of the building. They checked around the corners, before motioning with their head towards the next street over. Following, I found an old beat up truck there with a full bag tied to the bed. They motioned for me to get in and they did too, buckling themself in and starting up the engine. They hit the gas and drove down the street fast. The undead heard, but were unable to keep up.</p><p>After a while, we came upon a large building. There weren't any infected around, so they parked and hauled the bag out of the back. Catching my breath, I got out of my seat and closed the door, as they locked the vehicle. Going inside, we went up at least fifteen flights of stairs, since the elevator didn't work. Coming to, what looked like, a lab, they sat in a chair, a breathy sigh of relieve leaving them. They pulled down the hood, letting me see that they had short (h/c) hair, and took their gas mask off. She. It was a woman that saved me. And man was she pretty. One (e/c) eye stared at me, the other was closed, as she fixed the eyepatch that was on it. She chuckled.<br/>"You seem surprised, Mark."<br/>"Uhhh..."<br/>"Oh, come on. Almost everyone knows who you are Mark Fischbach aka Markiplier."<br/>"Eh..."<br/>"Jut cause I used to be a scientist, doesn't mean I didn't watch YouTube. Oh, where are my manners? I'm ______." I dumbly shook her hand.<br/>"So..."<br/>"You have questions. Ask away."<br/>"What caused the outbreak?"<br/>"A mutated form of the zombie virus that affects ants. Scientist were researching how the fungus achieves this." <br/>"Why did it spread so fast and how far has it spread? I was only out for like three days!" She sighed.<br/>"The carriers were both small rodents and flies, though they weren't affected. It's already infected North America. No fly can cross that distance in its short lifespan, but I'm not so sure about the rodents." <br/>"Ok? A more personal one. The eye?" She smiled lightly.<br/>"I was almost turned. Infected blood came in contact with my eye and the other scientists had to remove it."<br/>"Where are they?"<br/>"I'm the only one left. The others either killed themselves when they got infected or were killed when they attacked us." </p><p>A couple minutes later, she rubbed her good eye.<br/>"We should get out of LA. The mobs're just getting bigger. Especially since we're so close to densely populated areas." She walked over to a table with a contraption on it.<br/>"This is a high pressure laser. Pretty much a welding torch on steroids. Put this on." She handed me a helmet that was closed on both sides. Clenching her eyes shut, she let loose a beam of light that hit a lens at the end and focused, burning through a two inch thick sheet of metal like butter. When she turned it off, I took the helmet off.<br/>"Damn that was fucking epic!" Another good thing about it was that it wasn't huge, probably the length of an AK-47.<br/>"How strong are you?" I shrugged.<br/>"Don't know." She pointed to a couple foot long blades on the table.<br/>"Strap those to your forearms." I did and strapped the other metal brace at my wrist. They were tight but not enough to cut off the circulation. Flicking my arms down and back up quickly made a blade shoot out a foot from the top on each.<br/>"Shiiiiiit...these're epic! And convenient! They're a bit heavy, but shouldn't be a problem." Jerking them down and to the side at an angle made them retract. She handed me a few daggers to keep on my body should I need to throw them. The then had me equip a couple handguns, a sawed off shotgun, a sniper rifle, and...a blow dart tube?<br/>"What's with the blow dart tube?"</p><p>She laughed, handing me a rectangle tin about the size of my fist.<br/>"These pellets contain a gaseous neurotoxin. If we or you get stuck in a horde, blow one out of the tube at a zombie or the ground, or just throw one. Since we wear gas masks, it shouldn't enter our bodies. Once the gas is in the body it'll either damage the infected long enough for us to kill them, or it will kill them itself, since the toxin goes straight to the brain." I nodded and she slung a compound bow over her shoulder, a quiver of arrows with it for emergencies. Placing the laser gun in her pack, disassembled into two parts, she equipped herself with her other weapons, leaving the hazmat suit over the back of the chair. She wore a dirty reddish grey tank top and a pair of grey biker shorts, along with some combat boots. _______ grabbed a footlong dagger and slid it into a sheath on a strap around her arm. Pulling a half face gas mask around her neck, she grabbed two pairs of goggles. Looking between them and me, she handed me the ones that looked like diving goggles. They looked like they'd fit over my glasses and they did. She put her's on and walked to the radio, winding the handle for a full minute. Pulling the mic to her mouth, she called through the static.<br/>"This is Dr. _______. Is there anyone out there?" Letting the message go through, she didn't get a response.<br/>"I repeat. This is Dr. ______. Is there anyone out there? Please respond." Through the crackle, a familiar voice came through.<br/>"This is Sean McLaughlin from the East Coast. We read you loud and clear!" I gaped.<br/>"Hand me the mic!" She nodded and I was pretty sure she know why I wanted it. I pressed the side button.<br/>"Jack!"<br/>"Mark?! You're alive! Where are ya?!"<br/>"Still in LA. Where the fuck are you? And why the fuck are you in the US?" <br/>"I was planin' on surprising you, but then it all went to fuck. We're in North Carolina by the way!" Another voice echoed in the background and Sean spoke again.<br/>"Wade and Bob are here too."<br/>"Damn!" A couple voices yelled loud enough for the mic on the other side to pick it up.<br/>"I'm just as surprised as you are!" It was both of my other friends. _______ took the mic back and spoke again.<br/>"We're coming your way. It may take a while, so we'll contact you once we get closer. Keep your station on this one." Getting an affirmative, she put the mic down and right as the radio lost power for now.<br/>"Let's move out." I nodded and we pulled our gas masks on, heading out to the truck. Well...at least my companion's pretty.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0008"><h2>8. The End(Mark) [PART 2]</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>-Mark's POV-</p><p>Another week went by and we were already in Kansas. We decided to stay inside the car to escape the heat. _______ was drinking from a small water bottle, while I gnawed on a granola bar. She pulled out the radio again and, before she could start winding it, I pulled it out of her hand, giving her a smile. She sat back, as I wound it for half a minute, giving us about fifteen minutes. I pulled the mic up.<br/>"Jack! Do you read me?" It only took ten seconds for him to respond.<br/>"I hear ya!"<br/>"We're in Kansas, so we should reach you in less than three weeks. If things change, we'll let ya know....what the fuck?"<br/>"Mark?"<br/>"Crows..."<br/>"What?"<br/>"Hundreds of crows are surrounding the truck..." <br/>"Get ou-" The radio went dead, as ______ stared through the window. <br/>"Shit."<br/>"What's with the eyes?(A/N: Resident Evil: Extinction I thank thee)"</p><p>Their eyes looked bloodshot and I felt like I was in the predator's den. <br/>"They've been feeding off the infected...whatever you do, don't. Open. The fucking. Windows." She started the motor and floored it, barreling through the murder as they bombarded the car. She swerved away from those that aimed to puncture the tires. She glanced to the sky for a moment, before breaking. She looked at me. <br/>"Hand me the blow tube and a couple pellets." I handed her them and we slipped on our goggles and masks. She lowered the window just enough to fit the tube through. Launching the tiny orbs out, she quickly pulled the pipe back in and rolled the window up. The blue fog didn't enter the cabin of the car, but we kept our masks on. When the most surrounded us, blocking out our vision, it was deathly silent.</p><p>Suddenly, we watched as the birds began dropping like flies. After about twenty minutes, the fog cleared. Dead crows littered the ground, not one left alive. _______ restarted the car and we were on our way again. We, finally, came to a small town that seemed deserted. But we both knew not to things at face value. Coming just outside the town, I rolled the window down a bit to listen. There wasn't a sound. Not even the sounds of the zombies groaning in the darkness of the alleys. The only sounds I could hear were the beating of my heart, my breathing, and the slightly labored breaths coming from ______. Wait...<br/>"______?" She still had her hands gripping the steering wheel, knuckles turning white, and her head laid against the top part, eye closed. She looked a little red, sweat dripping from her temple and glistening across her forehead. Her breathing was abnormal and she was shaking slightly. Reaching over, I pushed her back a bit with a hand to her collar bone and placed the back of my hand to her forehead. I recoiled.<br/>"You're on fire!" This wasn't just a fever. A fever doesn't make you unresponsive...most of the time. Spotting a rip in her shirt, I pushed the fabric up, finding her midsection hastily wrapped in bandages. One side was red with blood. I rolled up the window and turned the car off, getting out through my side. Rushing to the other side, I opened the door and unbuckled the woman, prying her hands from the wheel, bringing her into my arms. She curled into herself, shuddering breaths leaving her lips. Carrying her to the back, laid her down across all the seats.</p><p>Thank god the truck was a four door. </p><p>I unwrapped the bandages and winced. The cut was jagged and there were bits of sand in it. No wonder infection set in so fast. Some part of me was relieved it was this kind of infection and not the other. I wiped a wet towel over the tear in her side, trying not to stop when she would flinch at the pain. Rummaging through her pack, I pulled out the first aid kit. Yes! I didn't have to go searching for antibiotics! Bringing out a syringe, I injected the medicine into the skin by the cut, rewrapping her stomach and pulling her shirt back down. I pulled out a rag and wet it with some water from the canteen, laying it over her forehead. That seemed to make her expression turn less pained. I pulled up a blanket over her body, tucking it around her arms and legs. </p><p>I sat on the other side, her head in my lap, as I pet her hair, which was damp with sweat and the water from the rag. Just as a precaution and habit, I locked the truck and sighed. Hopefully she'd be well soon. Over the past week I'd known her, I'd grown to truly care for her. She seemed to care for me, even when she didn't know me back in LA. Well...she knew who I was, but it wasn't like she knew me personally. Breaking from my thoughts, I stared into the town for a moment, I grabbed the radio and cranked for two full minutes.<br/>"Jack? You there?" After a moment, I heard Wade through the radio.<br/>"Mark!"<br/>"Wade. Just checking in to say we're stuck for a few days. ______ came down with something."<br/>"What's she got?"<br/>"A cut. An infected cut."<br/>"..."<br/>"Not that kind of infected, Wade. The bacterial kind. When we came across this ghost town, she stopped the truck and became unresponsive."<br/>"Did you give her antibiotics?"<br/>"I cleaned it, gave her antibiotics, rewrapped it, put a wet cloth over her forehead, and wrapped her in a blanket. We're just outside of a ghost town, or at least I hope so."<br/>"If you need to go out, be careful. Wouldn't want the King of The Squirrels getting hurt, would we?" I chuckled softly.<br/>"You be safe too, Lord Memeion." A soft laugh came through the radio, as the sound of the mic shifting hands came through. The sound of my Irish friend came through, soft for the first time since the outbreak.<br/>"How ya holding up, Mark?"<br/>"Eh, as good as one can being in the fucking apocalypse. ______'s unconscious right now, so I'm pretty much alone. At least I can keep talking to you guys. Our radio works off of a crank, so I'll be able to keep contacting you guys."<br/>"Ours runs off a car battery. It goes dead for hours at a time. Let's hope it won't while you're by your self-" Aaaaaand their radio died. Fucking perfect. </p><p>I sighed and glanced down to ______. Her expression had changed to one that looked like she was simply asleep, but I knew better. Removing the cloth, I brushed my hand over her forehead. It'd been a good forty or so minutes after I'd made the call out, so the radio had some juice left. But, there was only one group I wanted to talk to and their radio was dead for the moment. I ran my palm over her hair, finding her fever to be going down slowly, the medication doing its job. She stopped sweating for now, but was still out cold. Soon, the sun began to set and I moved back to the front seat, reclining the chair all the way back, so that I could see her. I grimaced, hoping she'd recover soon, as my eyes fluttered closed.</p><p>Morning broke over the horizon, pulling me from sleep. I groaned and rubbed my eyes, grabbing my glasses from the center console. Looking over, I found ______ still asleep. Pulling my seat forward, I started the car, rolling all four windows down, before turning the engine back off. Switching to the back seat, I found that she'd kicked her blanket off in the middle of the night, normal sweat beading down her face. I gently dried her face, as she stirred. Her eye opened blearily and she tried to sit up. I kept her down, as she realized I was there.<br/>"Mark?"<br/>"Hey."<br/>"Can you let me up?"<br/>"No. You need to rest. It was fortunate we caught the infection in your side early. You were able to get us here, before becoming unresponsive and then blacking out."<br/>"Eh...sorry." I smiled.<br/>"I'm just happy you're ok." She licked her lips and I brought a bottle of water to her lips, propping her up a bit with my left hand holding her between her shoulders. Her eye closed for a moment, as she breathed.<br/>"Thanks."<br/>"I need to give you more medicine." She nodded and I slipped out, circling around to the other side, injecting her with antibiotics again, followed by morphine. She winced slightly, but didn't make a sound.</p><p>"We're almost out of food. I'm gonna have to go into town. Will you be alright?" She nodded.<br/>"If I need to, I can fight." I nodded and left the car, locking it. I slipped my goggles and gas mask on, holding an AK-47 in my hand just in case. When I walked into the town, I didn't see or hear anything. I, accidentally kicked a glass bottle into a wall, making it shatter. I froze. Not a sound. <br/>'Strange.' When I found a mart, I walked in and stocked a couple bags with non perishable foods. Spying a couple pillows and a light blanket, I swiped them too. Making my way back, I'd yet to see an infected. When I came back to the car, I unlocked it and got into the front.<br/>"_______?" She woke and smiled.<br/>"How'd it go?"<br/>"Good. There wasn't a single zombie, though."<br/>"Odd." I nodded and we set down for a bit.</p><p>The next day, ______ was feeling good enough to drive again. We rolled the windows up and she started driving, taking the long way around the town. After a few hours of driving, a figure was seen in the distance.<br/>"What's that?" She parked and got out, me following her. It was a woman. She looked normal, before she started to turn, her movements staggered. _______'s eyes widened and watered slightly.<br/>"No...(b/f/n)..." The woman screeched and ran at _______, but didn't get far, as the scientist steeled herself and shot, making the reanimated corpse of someone she knew fall to the ground, never to get up again. _______ fell to her knees.<br/>"I thought she hung herself..."<br/>"_______?" I placed a hand to her shoulder.<br/>"(B/f/n) hung herself when she got bit. The infection must've already affected her brain. But...how'd she get so far out here so fast?"<br/>"_______? Who was she to you?"<br/>"My best friend."</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0009"><h2>9. The End(Mark) [PART 3]</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>this one will be EXTREMELY slow going</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>-Mark's POV-</p><p>I drew her into a hug, patting the back of her head, as she closed her eyes for a moment.<br/>"Thanks." I smiled and pulled her back to the truck. We made sure to go around the corpse and continue on our way into Missouri. We parked on the outskirts of the city called Warsaw. We could hear the infected crawling all over the place. Now, normally, we'd go around it, but we were running low on water. The few days we spent in Kansas' deserts drained our supply. We got out of the car and donned our gear. Creeping into the town as quietly as possible, we kept our guards WAY up. Luckily, there was a store really close to the edge of town. We slipped inside and went directly to the water section. It was full. Even after so long.</p><p>I rushed off, coming back with a couple hand trucks. We loaded as many flats of water bottles as we could, jamming a few larger bottles into our bags. Sneaking out, I pulled her against the wall of the alley. It would've been an awkward position if the situation wasn't so dire. I had her pinned with my hands on either side of her head. The couple infected I'd heard stumbled by, not noticing us. I sighed in relief and we continued back to the truck. When we made it, we loaded the water into the bed and closed it, putting a couple in the backseat. We sat in the front, a sigh of relief escaping our lungs.<br/>"That was fucking close."<br/>"Yeah...Mark?"<br/>"Yeah?" ______ blushed lightly.<br/>"Uh...never mind." I shrugged, curious at what she wanted to ask me, but I didn't want to force her. She got in the passenger seat, while I took up driving for now. She took out the radio and wound it up. The crackling of static filled the car, as she spoke.<br/>"Uh...are you there, Jack?" The static parted.<br/>"Who's this?"<br/>"This is ______. Mark's driving right now. Say 'hi' Mark." I laughed.<br/>"Hey, Jack!" <br/>"Mark! Holy shit, man! Ya scared the fucking balls out of me! Our radio was dead for an hour and we didn't hear back from ya for like almost three days!" <br/>"Sorry, man. We spent another day near that city and ______ woke up in the morning after I contacted you last. I went into that little town. Not. One. Fucking. Zombie. It was deserted. Then we kept moving and stopped for a reload of water. Now I'm driving while ______'s in the passenger's seat."</p><p>______ chuckled. <br/>"Kansas was a fucking oven in a volcano's ass!" Jack started laughing hysterically.<br/>"You've gotta be the best person to talk to!" <br/>"She is. She used to be a scientist before everything went to to shit. She's very interesting."<br/>"Psh...brown noser..."<br/>"I'm serious, _______."<br/>"Well, you two would be the firsts that aren't scientists to think that."<br/>"Uh...sorry to bring this up again, but...(B/f/n)?" She sighed.<br/>"She was a scientist in the building I worked. I'd known her since we were in highschool." Jack cleared his throat.<br/>"Uh..."<br/>"(B/f/n) was my best friend, whom I thought hung herself after she got bit. A couple days ago, we found her in the desert and I had to kill her...or what was left of her."<br/>"Yikes. Sorry ya had to do that."<br/>"It's fine. She would've wanted me to." I tried to get off that topic.<br/>"So, how's it going over there?"<br/>"Eh, boring as fuuuuuuck. We're secluded away from the town, by the ocean, but we've got a path to get what little fuckin supplies we can get."<br/>"How're Wade and Bob?"<br/>"They're doing great. We've-shit! Gotta call ya back! A few shifters breached camp!"<br/>"We'll wind back up in a couple hours. Kick their asses!"</p><p>-big Timeskip-</p><p>A few more days went by and we made it about halfway through Kentucky. We'd rolled up close to Somerset and parked the car behind a thicket of trees. We geared up and went to scout the town for resources. ______'s grip on her weapon, a pipe riddled with nails, screws, and bolts, tightened, as we turned corner after corner and killed zombie after zombie. We slipped into a store and cursed, finding it nearly picked clean. Even the storage room was almost empty. The only non perishable items were a few boxes of beef jerky and a box of peanut butter jars. We loaded a few trolleys and rushed them back to the car, knowing we wouldn't be able to move quick and quiet with them. On our way back to the town, we decided to shortcut through a school. Bad idea. It was swarming. Instead of going in guns blazing, we decided to sneak through. We ended up getting pushed down towards the storm shelter below the school. We burst into the cellar and barricaded the door with a scrap of wood laying around. When we turned around, we noticed something. There was light.</p><p>We looked around, finding dead bodies piled up in the corner, clothes piled in the other, half a box of rations by the wall, and two sleeping bags laid out by the other wall. There were two living, breathing, people inside them. We leaned against the wall, but ______ ended up dropping something on the ground, causing both men to bolt awake. One had brown hair and the other's fringe was a faded blue color. I blinked, instantly knowing who they were.<br/>"Tyler? Ethan?"<br/>"Mark?!"<br/>"How the hell did you two get out here?!"<br/>"We were on vacation together.(A/N: roll with it)" <br/>"Who's this?"<br/>"Oh, this is ______. She saved my ass back in LA."<br/>“Yo. I know you. CrankGameplays.”<br/>“Uh...”<br/>“I was a part of the CrankyCrew,” She chuckled softly, as he stared at her, then me.<br/>“What...how...this is like a stereotypical zombie movie! Main protagonist meets hot chick and they survive through the apocalypse.” ______ blushed, brushing a loose bit of hair behind her ear.<br/>“I’m not hot...I’m...lukewarm. Besides, how can a scientist be hot when they’re not in movies?” I felt a little pink rise to my face.<br/>“You...are...” Oh god, this was fucking awkward. Ethan to the rescue.<br/>“You said you’re a scientist?” She sat down and put her pack in front of her.<br/>“Yeah. I brought along some things we can use that I made. We’ve only been using the neurotoxin pellets for emergencies though. We haven’t needed to use the plasma laser yet.”<br/>“Plasma laser?”<br/>“My own design. It can cut through things really easily.”<br/>“Dude! Tyler! Look at Mark’s sick ass arm swords!” I grinned and whipped them out at a safe distance.<br/>“BOOYAKASHA BITCHES!” _______ broke into giggles and fell onto her ass, trying to wipe the tears collecting in her one good eye. </p><p>After a moment, she stood back up.<br/>“TMNT was life when I was a kid. So, you two wanna tag along?” The guys looked at each other and back.<br/>“We don’t want to be burdens...”<br/>“Nonsense! We have a four door pickup truck waiting for us on the corner. All we need to do is carve a path to it. You up for it?” Tyler looked to Ethan, before picking up one of their handguns. <br/>“Let’s do this!” Ethan grinned and picked up a shotgun, cocking it.<br/>“Let’s blow some fuckin’ brains out.” ______ stood by the door, while I kept my arm blades out. She put her shoulder to the door.<br/>“Ready? One. Two. Three!”</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0010"><h2>10. Hold On(Jacksepticeye, Anti, Mark, and Dark)</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Hold On - Chord Overstreet</p><p>TRIGGER WARNING</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <i>Being split apart was...weird. It felt like something big was missing.</i>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <i>_____ sat in her living room, flicking through the channels on tv. That was when she noticed a figure standing in the entryway to the den. It was her other half. Her subs on YouTube called her Shadow, since she had these weird hands. They were huge and her fingers were long, stained to the end of her wrist bones with a black pitch. She could see her staring with black eyes, a ring of red in them. _____ scooted over and pat the couch. Shadow looked confused, before she pat the cushion again.<br/>
“Ya gonna stand there or sit? I won't bite.” She walked over and sat, a heavy, yet, nearly, silent sigh heaving through her chest.<br/>
“It...FeElS...sTrAnGe…” _____ sighed.<br/>
“Yeah...it does…”</i>
</p><p>Loving and fighting<br/>
Accusing, denying<br/>
I can't imagine a world with you gone</p><p>
  <span class="u">Sean kicked back in his chair, his pen pinched between his nose and his upper lip, as he thought. He felt a red clawed hand rest on the top of his chair and looked up. A pair of mismatched eyes stared back. One with a black sclera and a green iris, the other with a green sclera and a blue iris.<br/>
“Hey, Anti...could ya...help me for a minute?”<br/>
“Hm?”<br/>
“I'm having a hard time figuring out games to do...maybe I just need another brain to help me out.” Anti gave a playful smirk.<br/>
“To HaVe AnOtHeR sUgGeStS yOu EvEn HaD oNe To BeGiN wItH.” Sean snorted, the blunt answer coming out of nowhere.<br/>
“True. True. But, still. Can ya help me?”<br/>
“SuRe.”<br/>
“Thanks.” As soon as he sat down, a sigh rasped through his chest, as he held a closed fist to his sternum.<br/>
“It FeElS sO...wEiRd…” His host met his eyes and sighed back.<br/>
“Yeah, it does.”</span>
</p><p>The joy and the chaos, the demons we're made of</p><p>
  <b>A head of dark brown hair stood at the stove, a small pot on a burner. He was stirring a wooden spoon through it, as a wheezing voice came from the doorway.<br/>
“M-MaRk…” His head shot up.<br/>
“Dark! You're supposed to be laying down!” The dark brown, nearly black, haired man’s pale face seemed even more sallow. The hands gripping the blanket around his shoulders shivered involuntarily.<br/>
“I-I cAn’T l-lAy DoWn AlL dAy...I-It’S mAkIn’ Me F-FeEl WoRsE…”<br/>
“Go sit on the couch. Lunch is almost ready.” The, pjed, man shuffled over and sat, winding the covers around himself tighter. He had rings under his eyes, as he tried to massage back the headache he was getting. He really hated that he was a demon and aspirin wasn't effective on him, unless he wasn't split from his host. A shadow came to the front of him and he opened his obsidian colored eyes. Mark stood there with two bowls of hot chicken soup.<br/>
“I know you're not human, but the mug is very hot.” Dark took the food and used part of the blanket to keep it off his skin.<br/>
“ThAnKs…”<br/>
“No problem.” As they sat in a comfortable silence, Dark let out a soft sigh. He set the mug down on a coaster on the coffee table, as his hands began shaking again.<br/>
“MaRk?”<br/>
“Hm?”<br/>
“WhY...WhY aRe YoU tAkInG cArE oF mE?” That took Mark by surprise.<br/>
“What?”<br/>
“I mEaN...i MaKe YoUr LiFe H-HeLl...I’m A dEmOn…” The, healthy, man looked up at his counterpart.<br/>
“You don't make my life hell, per say. You have your moments, but it's not like I hate you. You're part of me. No matter how dumb it sounds, you're my personal demon...somehow in a good way.” A soft, phlegm-filled, chuckle left the, flu-ridden, demon’s chest.<br/>
“It...FeElS oDd…”<br/>
“Then, you should lay down.” He shook his head loosely, staring at his hands. They were still trembling. He balled his hands to quell it and regain his control. It worked and he was left staring at his coal colored nails.<br/>
“N-NoT tHaT…” Mark knew exactly what he was talking about and sighed back.<br/>
“Yeah...it...it is.”</b>
</p><p>I'd be so lost if you left me alone</p><p>
  <i>-Timeskip; a few days-</i>
</p><p>
  <i>_____ walked closer to the bathroom, a bit worried. Shadow had gone in an hour ago to take a bath and hadn't come back out. She never took this long. Something settled into her gut, as she knocked.<br/>
“Shadow?” No response.<br/>
“Shadow?” No response.<br/>
“I'm kicking the door down!” She rammed her shoulder into the door, breaking it open. All the color drained from her face and her heart dropped into her stomach. Shadow was knelt in front of the tub, her arms in the water, which was turning a deep red. She bolted forwards and hauled her out onto the tile. Her eyes closed and opened with a purple iris, meaning that her doctor persona, Dr. Likita*, was in control. She hastened her pace, as she worked to save Shadow’s life, thick tears streaking her face.</i>
</p><p>You locked yourself in the bathroom</p><p>
  <span class="u">Sean came through the door, setting his keys on the ring and putting a grocery bag on the counter. Suddenly, he heard something knock over. A niggling in the back of his head made him rush to Anti’s room. The door was locked.<br/>
“Anti? Is everything alright?” He heard strangled sounds and didn't think twice before barreling through the door, taking it off its hinges. Panic set in his chest, as he watched his demon’s lifeless form dangle from a rope attached to the ceiling fan. He cut him down and laid him on the carpet, placing an ear to his chest. A faint heartbeat reached his ears and a shaky sigh of relief left his lips, as his eyes drained to green. Schneeplestin, instantly, began CPR, fear filling his breast.</span>
</p><p>Lying on the floor when I break through</p><p>
  <b>It was strange to hear nothing coming from the garage, where Dark would go to make things. It gave him something to zone out on. Mark knocked on the door. He knew it was locked. It always was.<br/>
“Dark?” A loud bang made him jump and pale. He rose a foot and began ramming his way through the thick door, adrenaline rushing past his ears at the recognition of the sound. Gunshot. When he got the door open, he found Dark on the floor, a puddle of blood pooling around his head, his mouth open. A clean hole was shot through the back of his neck, just missing the spine. Apparently, his knock made the gun slip lower than intended. Something in Mark’s eyes flickered and Dr. Iplier was in control. He placed a towel behind Dark’s head and put a hand over the man’s mouth. He felt a faint breath. He let out one of his own, he hadn't known he was holding. He's alive. His hands tremored, as he continued to work on keeping him that way.</b>
</p><p>I pull you in to feel your heartbeat</p><p>
  <i>_____ leaned against the edge of Shadow’s bed, boiling tears drenching her face, along with a cold sweat and a bit of blood. She let out a quiet whimper.</i>
</p><p>
  <span class="u">Sean sat in a chair next to Anti’s bed, his elbows on his knees. His body trembled, as his fingers gripped his hair. His palms and knees were bruised. A choked whisper left his throat.</span>
</p><p>
  <b>Mark sat, curled up on the floor, against the wall. He was covered in blood and his fingers were stained crimson. He was openly crying, as Dark slept in the bed above him. A low, strangled, sob vibrated throughout his body.</b>
</p><p>Can you hear me screaming</p><p>
  <i>
    <span class="u">
      <b> “Please don't leave me…”</b>
    </span>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <span class="u">
      <b>A pair of chapped lips cracked open, a hoarse and tired voice responding.</b>
    </span>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <span class="u">
      <b>“H-HyPo...CrItE…”</b>
    </span>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>_____’s head whipped up and she scrambled onto the bed, wrapping her arms around Shadow’s shoulders and bawling into her collarbone. The demon placed a hand on her upper back, delicately.</i>
</p><p>Hold on, I still want you<br/>
Come back, I still need you</p><p>
  <span class="u">Sean rushed over to the bed and found heterochromatic eyes cracked open. He kneeled on the mattress, next to Anti, and just gripped the shoulder of his shirt. Tears dripped down his chin. The demon reached up and pushed Sean’s head to his shoulder, his fingers slightly tangled in his hair.</span>
</p><p>Let me take your hand, I'll make it right</p><p>
  <b>Mark pulled himself up and over the edge of the bed, finding Dark staring up at the ceiling, blearily. The next thing the demon knew, Mark was next to him, his arms wrapped around his lower ribs and the man was crying silently into his chest. He lifted a hand and placed it on the back of Mark’s neck.</b>
</p><p>I swear to love you all my life<br/>
Hold on, I still need you</p><p>
  <i>”Don't...Don't move your arms too much…” _____ sat back on her haunches, not meeting Shadow’s eyes. She felt a set of knuckles brush her knee and looked up into the eyes of her counterpart. She knew she couldn't keep her mask on. Those eyes of hers turned dull and rainy, yet she did not cry. The mattress creaked slightly, indicating Shadow sitting up. She wrapped her arms around _____’s waist, gingerly.<br/>
“YoU sTiLl CaN’t HeLp PuTtInG oThErS bEfOrE yOuRsElF, hUh?” _____’s head and back bowed forwards, her arms hanging, limply, at her sides. When a pair of hands cupped her face, they brought it up so it could be seen. Her eyes were half-lidded and dead-looking. Her mouth was open a fraction, letting Shadow hear the wheezing breaths she was taking. She gripped the woman’s shoulders.<br/>
“_____! BrEaThE!” She, lightly, shook her and gave a firm pat to the middle of her spine. She sucked in a deep breath, and her final wall shattered. Silent threads of salt water streaked from her eyes. She was pulled to the injured woman's chest, where a question squeezed out into the demon’s ear.<br/>
“Why?” She knew what she meant.<br/>
“I...I tHoUgHt I wAs A bUrDeN oN yOu...NoW, i SeE tHaT, eVeN lIkItA wAnTeD tO sAvE mE…” A little smile crossed her face, as _____ clutched her around the back.</i>
</p><p>A long endless highway, you're silent beside me<br/>
Drivin' a nightmare I can't escape from</p><p>
  <span class="u">”You...uh...bruised your neck up pretty bad. Your chest’s bruised up too and your xiphoid process is fractured. Be...Be careful.” The first thing Anti did was pick up Sean’s hands and stare at them. The heels and top of his wrists were red and speckled lightly with the beginnings of bruises. The top of his left hand had a bruise that was, slowly, turning a red color with a slight purple tinge.<br/>
“YoU...oR sChNeEp...GaVe Me CpR…” it wasn't a question.<br/>
“HoW...HoW lOnG dId It TaKe?” His voice responded, dry and cracked.<br/>
“Twenty minutes.”<br/>
“ShItE...sOrRy…” Sean squeezed his eyes shut, as he gripped his hair.<br/>
“Why?”<br/>
“I...tHoUgHt YoU hAtEd Me…”<br/>
“Never...You're a part of me…” A tired smile twitched at the corner if Anti’s mouth, as he tugged Sean’s hands away from his hair. He ruffled his floof, playfully, making the man shift onto his butt, taking the pressure off his bruised knees.</span>
</p><p>Helplessly praying, the light isn't fadin'<br/>
Hiding the shock and the chill in my bones<br/>
They took you away on a table</p><p>
  <b>”Don't try to sit up...you...have a hole in the back of your neck. The back should be closed up, due to you being a demon and all. Your shoulders took a jarring from the fall, so...just be careful.” Dark stared at the amount of blood Mark had on him. The pinkish stain wouldn't leave his fingers.<br/>
“DiD dR. IPlIeR cOmE oUt?” Mark nodded, his voice soft.<br/>
“Three hour emergency surgery.”<br/>
“So-" A shaking hand covered his mouth.<br/>
“D-Don’t...Don't apologize. If anyone, I should be saying I'm sorry. Something I did made you feel unwanted…” The demon’s own hand covered his host’s. After a second of silence, they both broke into soft chuckles, as they lowered their hands. Dark gave Mark a weak pat on the shoulder.<br/>
“DoN’t BlAmE yOuRsElF...iT wAs My StUpId AnD sElFiSh dEcIsIoN.” Mark gave a smile. One that was drenched in relief, but deeply reeked of pain and sorrow. He got a, small, tired smile from the demon, as he rose his hand and pinched Mark’s nose. It wasn't enough to hurt, but enough to close off his nostrils.</b>
</p><p>I pace back and fourth as you lay still<br/>
They pull you in to feel your heartbeat</p><p>
  <i>
    <span class="u">
      <b>Feet pelted the ground with running steps, as they chased after a shadow in the distance, growing ever further away. The demon turned to the side and stared with a single eye, before disappearing entirely. The human bolted upright, a scream bursting from sore lungs.</b>
    </span>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <span class="u">
      
    </span>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <span class="u">
      <b>“Please don't leave me!”</b>
    </span>
  </i>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <i>Shadow gripped _____’s shoulders.<br/>
“I’m RiGhT hErE! i’M nOt GoInG aNyWhErE!” Both of them were crying, as the injured woman held her close, touching their foreheads together. A white light enveloped the demon and, in an instant, she was gone</i>
</p><p>Hold on, I still want you<br/>
Come back, I still need you</p><p>
  <span class="u">”SeAn! CaLm DoWn! YeR gOnNa HyPeRvEnTiLaTe!” The demon’s accent became thicker in his worry. The stress was visible on his face, as the human stared at his lap with wide, terrified, and unseeing eyes. The demon lashed out, wrapping his arms around the man, holding the jack of his head over his shoulder.<br/>
“I aIn’T gOiN’ aNyWhErE…” His body was shrouded in a bright light and, after a moment, the human was left kneeling on an empty bed.</span>
</p><p>Let me take your hand, I'll make it right</p><p>
  <b>Mark trembled, as he stared at his hands, thick tears dripping off his face in globules. A pair of hands gripped his upper arms, as Dark sat up, the back of his neck almost healed completely.<br/>
“MaRk…” He didn't answer.<br/>
“MaRk, I’m FiNe…” When he didn't answer a second time, Dark grabbed his hands.<br/>
“YoU cAn’T gEt RiD oF mE tHaT eAsIlY!” Suddenly, he lit up in a light that blinded the sun. After a couple seconds, it died away and Mark was left, staring at the empty spot his demon was just sitting.</b>
</p><p>I swear to love you all my life<br/>
Hold on, I still need you</p><p> </p><p>
  <i>_____ looked around, frantically. That was until she could hear her personalities cheering and crying. Then, she heard Shadow laugh in her head. She grinned, as a pair of tears dripped from her eyes. She felt whole again.</i>
</p><p>I don't wanna let go<br/>
I know I'm not that strong<br/>
I just wanna hear you</p><p> </p><p>
  <span class="u">There was yelling in his head. Sean was confused, until he felt Anti’s powers inside him again. His glitching laugh joined the noise, as he sensed Chase noogie the demon in a brotherly fashion. And, for once, Anti welcomed it. Sean felt his heart swell, as he let out a soft chuckle of relief. He felt complete again.</span>
</p><p>Saying baby, let's go home<br/>
Let's go home<br/>
Yeah, I just wanna take you home</p><p> </p><p>
  <b>Mark gripped the sheets, his mind sent whirling. He didn't know what way was up, as he searched the room. After a minute, he was bordering panic. That was when he heard crying in his head. When he concentrated, he could sense that it was coming from Dr. Iplier and, surprisingly, Wilford. They'd latched onto the dark and misty feeling in his mind. Dark. He's back. He sighed into his laugh, as he hugged himself around the shoulders. He felt in one piece again.</b>
</p><p> </p><p>Hold on, I still want you<br/>
Come back</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>
  <i>
    <span class="u">
      <b> “I still need you.../I sTiLl NeEd YoU…”</b>
    </span>
  </i>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0011"><h2>11. An Angel's Keeper(Jacksepticeye) [PART 1]</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Sean laid with his head lightly touching his friend, _____’s. He was fiddling with his phone, while she was taking a nap. Suddenly, he felt her jolt and turned into his stomach, laying his hand on the side of her neck. He jerked back. Her heart was pounding. Her brilliant (e/c) eyes shot open and she sat bolt upright, moving away from him.<br/>“_____?” A shudder flashed through her body, as she lurched forward, coughing violently.<br/>“St-Stay over there! You d-don't need to get caught in this!”<br/>“______! What's happening?!” A flare of light let the runes across her skin show themselves. She stood in the corner, staring at her hands.<br/>“No...this was never supposed to happen! How?! How did he find out?!”<br/>“______! What the fuck is going on?!” She looked up past her shoulder length (h/c) hair.<br/>“I'm sorry…” A hole opened up beneath her feet, glowing a demonic red color. As she plummeted, she didn't expect her wrist to be caught. Looking up, she found Sean leaning down into the portal, his hand gripping her wrist. She let go of her grip on his arm, increasing the weight put on his own.<br/>“______!”<br/>“Just let me go! As long as he doesn't realize you're here, you'll be safe!” His blue eyes widened in horror.<br/>“What about you?!” Her eyes softened.<br/>“I'll survive. I'll find you if I can escape again.” He growled in determination.<br/>“Like hell! If you're going, so am I!” He jumped in and started falling with her. </p><p>“What the fuck, Sean?!” She looked down and groaned, before beginning to change. It was so quick that all the man knew was that he was swept up into her arms and a pair of wings erupted from her back, as she soared to the bottom of the portal and onto a hard, rocky, ground. She set him on his feet and took a step back. He took a look at her. A pair of bony, midnight toned, bat wings folded against her back with a fleshy pink membrane and a pair of black buffalo horns jutted out from the sides of her head. She had her head turned to the side, her eyes lidded. A small fang peeked over her lip, as his eyes traveled to the spade tipped black tail that waved behind her, twitching nervously. Her feet had turned into large goat hooves, leading up through (h/c) fur to her knees, which he found to be thick and layered. She wouldn't look at him.<br/>“_____.” He placed his hands on her shoulders, making her turn her head. Her eyes were their normal color, but a slit replaced her round pupil. Before he could say another word, tears began bubbling up in those beautiful orbs. She broke down.<br/>“I'm sorry! I'm sorry!” He grabbed her hands.<br/>“Why are you sorry?” She shivered.<br/>“I didn't tell you what I was…” He rose a brow.<br/>“I understand why. I mean...who WOULDN'T freak out if someone came out and told them they were a demon...that is what you are...right?” She nodded.<br/>“I was sent to spy on you, but I slowly found myself opening up to you. We were becoming friends. I didn't want it to seem like I was only getting close to watch you.” He smiled widely.<br/>“You're still my friend, _____.” </p><p>She looked surprised, before smiling, herself.<br/>“Thank you.” He took another step closer to her, his foot scuffing up a bit of ground. When the dust touched his skin, he hissed in pain.<br/>“What the…” <br/>“Sean. We're in Hell. The ground is hot enough to burn skin. But...it seems to burn you more.” He scratched his head, a sigh coming from his lungs. <br/>“Alright. I have a few questions. Why would it hurt me more? Why can I see red mist around you? And why would you be sent to watch me, of all people...a human?” She was about to answer, when a familiar voice did it for her.</p><p> </p><p>“Because, Jack,...we're angels.”</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0012"><h2>12. An Angel's Keeper(Jacksepticeye) [PART 2]</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Sean spun on heel, coming to see a face he knew quite well.<br/>“Mark!” The taller brunette, slowly, walked forward, something in his hands.<br/>“Amy...uh...told me to give this to you, _____.” She took it with shaking hands. It was an amulet. A teardrop shaped orange-red sphalerite sat within a metal rose thorn shaped cage. She looked back up, handing it back.<br/>“Put it on. It will hide your angelic signature from the others. Sean…” She reached around her neck and pulled off another amulet. It was a red cube within a glass sphere. She clipped it around Sean’s neck, answering his questioning stare.<br/>“Vanadinite can be toxic to any being.” _____ sighed and turned her head away, as if in guilt.<br/>“_____...why didn't you tell me?” She blinked softly.<br/>“If I was to tell you, would you have believed me?” He stopped for a moment.<br/>“You're right…” She let out a single, mirthless, chuckle.<br/>“You...both of you...are half angel. Well...a quarter in your case, Sean. Mark, your father was an angel. His cancer was brought on by prolonged exposure to the aura of a malevolent demon. Sean, your grandmother was a glorious angel with wings of silver light. They both fell in love with humans and, as you can see, you're both here.” </p><p>Mark looked hesitant.<br/>“Did...you know my dad?” She shook her head.<br/>“No, but my mother was his friend. He, like you, didn't know he was an angel. His unknowing was from an incident that left him with amnesia. Sean, my father grew up with your mother. They were like siblings. They, my father and your grandmother, knew what each other were, but didn't care. My parents had always been tolerant and kind for demons. When they had me, they instilled those beliefs in me. I...I hope you both don't hate me now.” Both young men stared at her, as she turned her head down to her hooves. They looked back at each other, before a little smile crossed their faces.<br/>“We don't hate you, _____.” She looked up, finding Sean walking closer.<br/>“We...actually want to thank ya. Ya tried to keep us safe and we appreciate that.” She looked surprised, as he hugged her, the top of her head coming to his nose. A tint of red surfaced on her cheeks, as she closed her eyes. She wrapped her arms under his and gripped the back of his shirt, turning her face down into his shoulder. A breathy sigh was muttered under her breath.<br/>“Thank shit…” </p><p>She stepped back, putting a hand to her eye.<br/>“_____?” She pulled her left eye out, making both men cringe and look at her in horror. She looked down at it.<br/>“Sam...it's time.” The eyeball, still connected to the optic nerve, turned on its own, staring between her and Sean. It lifted off her hand, flying to in front of her face. The white parts and the nerve turned green, while the iris turned a stunning shade of deep ocean blue. It grew a little larger and _____ set a small flat cap on its head.<br/>“Sean. This is Sam.” He took a step forward.<br/>“He’s...real?” She nodded.<br/>“Since you're both part human, you still have your guardian angels. They take form of things you both love with all your hearts. Which, in this case, are your mascots. Sean has Sam and Mark…” She snapped her fingers and a small crate appeared in her hand. It was no bigger than an alphabet block. She pecked her lips to the side and a pair of bright blue eyes blinked open. It smiled at her.<br/>“Is it time?” She nodded and he hopped down, growing a little bigger in the process. He hopped over to Mark, giving a salute.<br/>“Tiny Box Tim at your service!” Stars came to the man’s eyes, as he picked Tim up.<br/>“You're so cute! Lil’ biscuit!”</p><p>Sean looked over to _____ again.<br/>“Why can't Sam talk?” She gave a little smile, as her eye regrew.<br/>“He can, but only you and I can understand him. You, because he's your guardian, and me, because I was his...host, for lack of a better word, for about...how old am I? Um...about...six years.” <br/>“So...why exactly was he in you?” <br/>“It was the only way for him to be there. Since you're both angels, you can see other angels. Tim was better at hiding, since he doesn't fly. Sorry, Sam.” He made a couple gurgling and purring sounds. Sean blinked.<br/>“That's so strange…” She chuckled.<br/>“You're telling me. It startled the shit out of me the first time.”</p><p>There was a sound down one of the rocky catacombs and ______ jolted.<br/>“We gotta go.”<br/>“What?”<br/>“I forgot about Sam and Tim being angels for a second. Their auras can still be felt.” All five of them ran down a different cave system. They all screeched to a halt when a sheer drop came in sight. Only, Sean and _____ had too much momentum. They fell. She instantly wrapped her wings around him and took the brunt of the fall. When she opened her wings, they both watched Mark look down at them helplessly. He and Tim jerked their heads back, as the sound of coming demons came closer. He spared a glance back, to which she nodded and mouthed ‘run’. He took off down an adjoining corridor, while _____ covered both Sean and Sam against the side of the cliff. The hoard of evil auras stopped at the top, looking around, before splitting off down another tunnel, opposite to the one Mark went down. When the energies faded, she moved her wings again.</p><p>Sean sat, panting a small bit. <br/>“That was close..._____?” She looked up.<br/>“Hm?”<br/>“Why did you protect me?” Her face sunk into one of guilt and sadness.<br/>“I...I...This mess is all my fault. I never should've let you fall with me back at your house. I should've-" She froze, when he hugged her.<br/>“This isn't your fault. Remember? I jumped in after you. If it's anyone's fault, it's mine.”<br/>“I-I tried to keep you safe...especially since you haven't awakened most of your powers yet-" He silenced her by putting his hand over her mouth and hugging her. <br/>“You tried your hardest. Something tells me this would've been inevitable. Now...most of my powers? What powers do I have?”<br/>“As of now, you have a strong sense of empathy, meaning you've got a heightened awareness of the emotions people have. The other is that you have the ability to make others feel what you do. Much like Mark does. Right now you can't control it and, even if you could, it comes on in times of extreme emotion. That's why people smile, laugh, or cry when you do in videos.” He put a hand up to his mouth in thought.<br/>“That makes so much sense...what are the ones I haven't unlocked yet?” She chuckled softly at his enthusiasm.<br/>“Ah...Light and spiritual energy manipulation, your holy aura, and your wings. They're a bit limited since you're three fourths human.” He blinked at you.<br/>“Holy...aura?”<br/>“You can use it to repel demons and vile creatures.”<br/>“But...if it can hurt you...I don't want to have that power…” You gave a soft smile. He's so caring.<br/>“That's the thing. My father told me that, when he met your grandmother, her aura was strong. He couldn't get near her. After a while, he became able to.”<br/>“What? How?”<br/>“She finally felt that she could trust him. And that trust is what kept him from feeling her aura.” He perked up.<br/>“And I trust you!” Her expression turned sad, as she pursed her lips.<br/>“Do you?”<br/>“What?”<br/>“You just found out what we are. You just found out I was sent to watch you because you were an angel. You found out I lied to you...I...I just noticed that you awoke it when we fell...I can feel a tingling when I'm near you. You may trust me, but...your trust is wavering a bit…”</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0013"><h2>13. An Angel's Keeper (Jacksepticeye) [PART 3]</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>His eyes widened, before he closed them tight. _____ could practically hear his thoughts. <i>I trust her. I trust her. I TRUST HER!</i> She sighed and put her hands on his shoulders.<br/>“It's not something you can force, Sean.” His eyes opened again, painful panic set into them. <br/>“But...But…” She moved her hands to his face and looked him in the eyes.<br/>“I know you trust me, but that doesn't mean you can control your subconscious trust. Now, calm down. Please. Your emotion control is going haywire. Your freaking out is freaking me out.” He tried to control his breathing, gripping the front of his temples. ______ gripped his arms gently.<br/>“It's ok...it's ok…” She hugged him, rubbing circles into his back.<br/>“Sean, c'mon. We gotta get going. Mark can’t keep running on his own.”</p><p>When she stood up, he was hesitant to take her hand.<br/>“Sean. Your aura isn't hurting me, as of now. It only tingles.” He steeled himself and took her offered palm, standing again. Her eyes scanned their surroundings. No caverns. She sighed.<br/>“I'm gonna have to fly us back up. Hold on.” Scooping him up into her arms, her wings gave a powerful thrust, propelling them upwards. Up on the ledge, she set him down, but put a finger to her lips. He turned his attention to his hearing, Sam peeking out of his hair. A faint hissing entered his ears, before _____ yanked him to the side by his sleeve, as a pillar of steam spewed from the ground, clipping his arm. He hissed, as his shoulder started turning red. An aura of faint gold surrounded his injury, slowly making it fade back to tan. He stared at his arm in wonder, as _____ chuckled.<br/>“Looks like you unlocked your healing abilities too. If you think things are too quiet, stop and listen. If you hear a hissing, like just now, move out of the way. Steam vents only hiss when pressure is put on them and, therefore, only erupt when someone stands on them.”<br/>“Pressure sensitive.”<br/>“Exactly.”<br/>“Noted.” She waved him over to an opening in the wall. Sam made some noises.<br/>“Yeah...I can sense Tim too. But, it's like Mark has him close to him, so the amulet is hiding his aura a bit. Let's go, before someone decides to ambush us.</p><p>They crept along the wall of the cave, ducking behind a boulder, as a pair of incubi strutted by. As soon as they were out of earshot, Sean snickered quietly.<br/>“Who walks like that?” She smiled at him.<br/>“Incubi are very prideful and arrogant. I hate them with my entire being.”<br/>“Wait. Weren't your parents demons?”<br/>“Oh. Yeah, they were, but not all demons are succubi or incubi. My dad was a nightmare demon and a weaponsmith. My mother...she was actually a very benevolent demoness. She was so kind that she could've easily been born an angel. When babies are born or children wake up screaming, she put herself in the area and tried to calm them. She would be able to pacify them enough until their parents could comfort them.” The way she spoke about them made Sean furrow his brows in concern.<br/>“You act like they're…”<br/>“Dead? They are. Lucifer, personally, killed them for being ‘weak’ and ‘soft’ when it came to humans. I was able to act neutral towards them, but, in actuality, I love humans. They're so interesting and creative. And...they love, most of the time, forever. Most demons don't bond. My parents were a rare sort, who blood bonded and lived together.”<br/>“...blood bond?” She smiled, as she pulled him down another corridor, following the faint trail of Tim’s signature. He must be in Mark’s shirt.<br/>“Blood bonding is a ritual solely practiced among demons, but only a small percentage of them actually do. A blood bond let's the other mate know if their beloved is injured, sick, or distressed and can lead them straight to them. I remember when my mother was very ill one time. She'd caught a nasty strain of Hell Fever and collapsed in our living room. I was only about three at the time and couldn't help her. In ten minutes flat, my father ran through the door, nearly tearing it off its hinges. Somehow, he’d gotten home from the other side of the wall in that amount of time. For perspective, from our home to his work is about...twenty miles. My father has to flame step every two or three miles to get there. Each energy regen time is about two to three minutes and it takes him, on a good day, about forty minutes to get to work or back home. For him to be able to summon so much energy to make it home so fast always baffled me.”<br/>“Woah…”<br/>“Yeah. When I asked, he told me that the bond latches onto protectiveness and, in need, gives a surge of energy to the one needing it. He said it's similar to human adrenaline.”<br/>“Cool...can angels do that?” She smiled softly.<br/>“In a way. Angels use a different version, called Aura Bonding. It's not quite as strong a bond, but it's close.”<br/>“So...why don't more angles blood bond? It's stronger, so why wouldn't they?” She pulled him flush against a wall, as a pair of succubi passed through. When they were gone, she answered him.<br/>“The ritual is considered demonic. It uses the blood of the individuals and can be quite painful. When the bond is created, a burn mark appears around their wrists in the shape of rose thorns. My mother’s had heart shaped leaves on them and my father’s was wreathed in flames. A fail safe is worked into the ritual through the blood. If one spouse attempts to kill the other, they gain the same injuries the other does and, if they succeed in killing them, they die too. It's a danger most demons don't want to go through. Ninety percent of demons don't settle down into one relationship and their children, normally, don't know who their fathers are. I'm a lucky sort, cause I knew both of my parents. Angels, most of them, don't understand that demons can love. They think of them as bloodthirsty animals with no longing for a lasting relationship, only letting themselves drown in lust.”<br/>“You...talk like you're not one…” She glanced to the brunette and sighed.<br/>“The demons down here despise humans. Part of that hate is just, due to humans having an extreme hate of them. But, most demons go out of their way to punish those who are innocent or children whose impressionable minds haven't been corrupted by their elders. Humans, on the other hand, hate all demons for the folly of their king. An angel who fell from grace. What people don't know is that Lucifer had a brother. A twin.” </p><p>Sean started.<br/>“What?” _____ nodded.<br/>“I expected that reaction. While Lucifer was the one to actually fall, his older twin, Satanus(A/N: pronounced Sah-ton-ihs), took the blame. After Lucifer fell, he was greeted by his brother, who, at the beginning of everything, was appointed as the King of the Damned Souls or King of The Inferno. Since they were twins, and looked identical, humanity merged them into one being. They used a shortened version of Satanus’ name. The name you know as Satan. Two hundred thousand years ago, give or take a few hundred years, Lucifer overthrew his brother and took his place as king. From there on out, what humans know of him is true. He just guised, most of the time, under his brother’s name.”<br/>“What happened to him? Did he die?” She shook her head.<br/>“No. He was sent to the Ninth Circle and falsely placed in the third round of treachery, Ptolomaea. If we are to get you four out of here, we need his help.” <br/>“But, he's the previous king of hell!” <br/>“Yes, but, unlike his younger brother, he was a better ruler. One that did not lust to destroy the world God has created and nurtured. He knew what his job was and his place. Why he was created and appointed his job. He knew that he was blessed to have been given anything, due to have done nothing to have warranted such a gift. No matter how dreary at times. He stayed away from the human world, but, at times, would peer into it, just to see what was happening.”<br/>“Woah. Ok. So...where are we now?” <br/>“At the edge of the Fourth Circle. Circle of Greed. We need to cross the River Styx, which is also the Fifth Circle, where the wrathful fight each other or wallow in their hatred under the murk. But, before that, we need to find Mark and Tim.” Sean blinked.<br/>“I can feel them…” <br/>“It seems like your powers are unlocking faster since you're in a situation where it's stressed that they're needed. I feel them too, but only Tim. He's got to be in Mark’s shirt and kind of under the amulet. It's stronger over here.” She pulled him to a small cave opening, just big enough for them to walk side by side. At the end was a faint pink glow. The watched the half angel get in a guarded stance, ready to fight. Sean held his hands up.<br/>“It's just us!” Mark sighed in relief, as he hugged the shorter man.<br/>“Oh, thank Christ! You're alive!” Sean laughed softly.<br/>“Yeah. If _____ wasn't there, I don't know what would've happened! She explained a lot of stuff to me too. Like the powers we're unlocking and the difference between Satan and Lucifer.”<br/>“There's a difference?”<br/>“Yeah! Hey, _____! Come closer so you can help me.” She closed her eyes and stayed planted where she stood, about halfway between the entrance and Mark. Her hands clutched the fabric of her shirt in front of her hips.<br/>“I can't.” Sean rose a brow.<br/>“What d’ya mean, you can't?” She gave a sad sigh and lifted her hand straight out. A pained hiss left her mouth and her fingers clenched part way, as the skin and muscle seared off to the bone, leaving a small patch of ash by her feet.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0014"><h2>14. An Angel's Keeper(Jacksepticeye) [PART 4]</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Sean stared between both the man and the woman. He knew it wasn't himself putting off this aura.<br/>“Mark?” The half Korean man only stared at the demoness, who had reeled her arm in. The flesh began knitting back together at a rapid pace. His lack of response prompted Sean to speak again.<br/>“Mark...why don't you trust _____?” When their eyes met, Sean could see the hurt and betrayal in his brown eyes.<br/>“She LIED to us. About us being part angel. About her being a fucking demon. About everything! What else has she lied to us about? Has she lied about being our friend?-!” It was then that Sam lifted out of his charge’s hair and whipped his tail out, effectively bitch slapping Mark in the face. He held his cheek.<br/>“OW! What the fuck?!” Tim poked out of Mark’s collar and jumped onto Sean’s lap, pinning his own charge with a glare. <br/>“How dare you! _____ has been protecting all four of us for a long time! She went against her orders for all of us! And you dare question her motives?!” Off to the side, _____ was looking down and to the side, her voice hoarse and soft.<br/>“I never lied about being your friend...I...I'll stand guard.” She walked back towards the entrance, which had been hidden behind a boulder, and stepped out. Mark glared her way.<br/>“See? She's gonna go get the others now.” Suddenly, he felt a hand grab the front of his shirt and found his friend snarling at him, his free fist raised, threatening to swing at him. His Irish accent thickened in his anger.<br/>“I've known _____ fer six fookin’ yeahrs! She is one of the kindest lasses ah’ve ever known! She would neva sell us out!” Though a bit perturbed by the Irishman’s rage, he bit back.<br/>“How do you know she hasn't been lying to you since the start?!” A fist connected with his face.<br/>“Because, ah trust her!” Before they could start fighting, a sob broke the air.</p><p>A streak of red, (h/c), and (s/t) blurred in front of them. _____ sat on her knees, crying. A foot and a half away from Mark. </p><p>“Please! Stop fighting! I'm not worth it!” They both watched in horror, as her skin began bubbling and melting off in some places, where others simply burned to ash. Sean crept closer, while Mark sat where he was, equally shocked.<br/>“______!” When Sean tried to drag her back to a safe zone, she fought him.<br/>“No! Leave me! I want to burn! I want to die!” <br/>“No you don't!”<br/>“Yes! I do! I'm not worth you two fighting each other! I'm not worth the care you give me! I'm not worth the worry you have over my safety! I’M NOT WORTH ANYTHING!” Instantly, Mark stood and sprinted to where she had been standing before, tearing the burning sensation from her and wrapping her in the, ironically, cooler air of the brimstone coated walls. ______ turned her, healing, face to him.<br/>“Why? I thought you didn't trust me…” His eyes were widened in horror.<br/>“Well...yeah! I still don't trust you fully, but that doesn't mean I want you to die!” Her eyes closed half of the way more, as the sharp and irregular breaths in and out of her mouth caused her bottom lip to quiver slightly. She bit down on said lower lip, as she turned away from him, her shoulders bending inwards and her voice very quiet.<br/>“But...I do…” A pair of hands grabbed her shoulders, making her look up into a pair of blue eyes. <br/>“Why would you want to die, _____?” Tears welled in her eyes even more, as they squeezed shut, and she sucked her bottom lip into her mouth, biting down the sobs that threatened to break free. She looked down to the side, bringing her hands up to her face, before drawing her knees up to take their place. Her hands gripped her upper arms, her claws scraping, quick regenerating, scratches into her biceps and puncturing them with bloody holes and gorey gouges. </p><p>The hands on her shoulders tightly gripped her wrists, pulling them away from her being.<br/>“______! Look at me!” Her hazed over eyes met his panicking ones, as he spoke again.<br/>“Why do you want to die?!” <br/>“I cause s-so much pain...I lied to you two...I could never do anything right. I couldn't save my parents. I couldn't save my sister. I'm just a waste of space. A waste of ether. A waste of a couple’s love. I don't deserve the happiness I want. I'm just a selfish bitch of a demon that can't do things worth a damn. I couldn't even protect you two...I'm just worthless…” Mark took a single step forward. Nothing happened. Then another. And another. And, soon, he dropped to his knees next to her, tears of his own sizzling against the hot ground underneath them. His hands burned against the soil and his aura began healing him as fast as he was scorching. His voice came out strained.<br/>“I'm sorry. I'm sorry…” She turned a pain filled eye to him and closed them, shaking her head, slowly.<br/>“It's not your fault. It's no one's fault. No one's, but my own.” Sean wrapped his arms around her waist.<br/>“_____...you didn't lie to us, per say. We didn't specifically ask ‘hey, _____! This might sound bat shit insane, but, am I an angel and are you a demon?’ I mean, really?” That got a laugh out if the other two.<br/>“There's that smile.” <br/>“I was sent to watch you...incase you became a threat. But...I instantly threw those orders out. If a half or quarter angel poses a threat to Lucifer, so be it. He needs to be knocked down a peg or two...or a thousand.” That made Mark snort in his laughter.<br/>“Is he really that prideful?” She gave a playful deadpan.<br/>“Think Alexander the Great, Napoleon, and Hitler rolled into one, multiplied by...ten thousand, and stewed in the hundreds of thousands of years he's been in his brother’s position.” Sean choked.<br/>“Holy fuck!” Mark looked confused, so _____ explained the Satan versus Lucifer situation. At the end, a drop of sweat dripped down his temple.<br/>“Damn...so...we need to go get him? From Circle Nine?”<br/>“Yep.”<br/>“So that he can help us defeat his brother?”<br/>“Not quite defeat, but he's the only one that can create a portal to the human realm without the use of a scribe’s power. All the scribes have sided with Lucifer out of fear. And the only way out is through the Center of Hell. The Infernal Throne Room.”<br/>“Holy mother of fuck...we gotta go through four circles.”<br/>“I can fly you both over some parts, but The River Styx is one I cannot. We will need to cross with the ferryman, Phlegyas, who will not care that you both are angels.”<br/>“Phlegyas? I thought the ferryman was Charon.”<br/>“That's Greek, Sean.”<br/>“Sorry.” She smiled at his sheepish expression.<br/>“It's fine, Sean. It was a common mistake humans or the human raised.” <br/>“Human raised?” <br/>“Some demons, such as imps or the deformed, are sent into orphanages to be adopted by human parents. Most of the time, they don't remember where they come from and, when their powers emerge, they're seen as ‘possessed’ or ‘evil’. In actuality, it's their minds trying to reason out why they have these abilities and instincts. Normally, they'll settle down on their own, but humans won't wait that long. They kill them or lock them up. Some of these children that grow into adulthood, which are very rare, are treated like wizards, witches, or sorcerers and burned at the stake. Well...they were before the practice of burning was banned.” Mark scratched the bridge of his nose.<br/>“What would demons consider deformed?”<br/>“Well...albino, for one. Albino demons look identical to humans without transforming. Sometimes they have white, brown, or Asian skin...for lack of a better adjective. Any tone that isn't a shade of red is considered albino. Albino demons, also, don't grow horns. Missing a tail or limbs or being blind or deaf can be considered deformed. Major mental problems too.” </p><p>“Ok. Let's get going!” Sean turned to Tim, who was the one that spoke. He picked him up and put him back on Mark’s shoulder.</p><p>The quintet set off again, shimmying against the side of the tunnel, yet not against it.<br/>“We’re almost there...just around this corner...and…” There was a large, open, cavern displayed out for them to see. There was a dock made of rotting wood, which seemed about to crumble at the slightest pressure. The water…<br/>“That's not water,” Sean shivered. The whole river teemed with souls. The murky green water made them seem like slime, which muffled screams of despair and pain. Both men cringed at the dread that soaked this place. ______ put a hand on either of their shoulders, as a rickety gondola slowly drifted over the heads of suffering spirits. It seemed empty, until the movement of a staff came into view, a lantern attached to the top, its green glow spilling across the darkness eerily. The being in the boat, connected to that staff, was only partially clothed. A grey cloth around its waist and one around its head. It was definitely male. His broad shoulders and muscled appearance made him look less like a ferryman and more like an executioner. When he reached the dock, he pulled down his head covering, letting them see a head of short black hair and one brown eye. The other half of his face was missing, only showing bone in its place. His voice was hoarse, yet with a fond edge to it.<br/>“Ah...It's good to see you after so long, _____.” She hugged him with a grin on her face.<br/>“I missed you Uncle Phlegyas!”<br/>“UNCLE?!” She glanced back at the two angels and started to giggle at their expressions.<br/>“I miiiight have forgotten to mention that…”<br/>“YEAH!” Phlegyas scanned them over with his one eye, as the other side of his face slowly reformed and crumbled off again.<br/>“Hmmmm…”<br/>“Oh! Uncle, these are my friends from the human world. Mark and Sean.” He eyed them a moment longer.<br/>“Yer both part angel...right?” They both looked nervous, as _____ nodded.<br/>“Mark’s half and Sean is a quarter.” <br/>“Hmmm…” They were both sweating right then, before he smirked.<br/>“Finally we got some angels to challenge the bastard’s authority. Fucking finally!” </p><p>They both let out breaths they didn't know they were holding and gave nervous chuckles, while _____ spoke.<br/>“Oh, uh, Uncle? We need to get across the Styx…” She shuffled through her clothes and brought out three golden drachmas, which he took and had them step into the boat.<br/>“Make sure you keep yer hands in the boat at all times. If one of the souls touches you tell me or _____. Now, we're off!” He started rowing and, every so often, beat a soul off of the staff or the side of the gondola. The light seemed to deter most of the damned, but some heeded no warning. After twenty minutes, the other dock came into view. They filed out and she gave her uncle one last hug, before waving and leading the boys into another tunnel.<br/>“Soooo...that was your uncle?” <br/>“Well...half uncle. My dad’s half brother.”<br/>“Half brother?”<br/>“Uncle Phlegyas is half human. He died due to his greed. The only reason he isn't in The Fourth Circle is that he made a deal with Satan, before Lucifer took control. He was seen as a misguided soul and a half demon. Satan knew he had a family and knew his sins could be paid off by being the ferryman for The River Styx.” They both looked understanding, as they approached the Sixth Circle. The Circle of Heresy. When they came through the entrance, Mark stopped and started scratching at his shoulders.<br/>“Mark?”<br/>“My shoulders itch like hell!” _____’s eyes flung open wide.<br/>“Mark take off your shirt!”<br/>“What?”<br/>“Your shirt. Off. Now!” He pulled it over his head and just in time. The skin around his scapulae bulged, before a set of, fully feathered, white gold wings sprouted into existence, splattered sparsely with blood.</p>
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